
THE 



UPRISING OF JUNE 20, 1792 



BY 



LAURA B. PFEIFFER 



A DISSERTATION 

Presented to the Faculty of the Academic College of the 

University of Nebraska, in Partial Fulfilment of 

THE Requirements for the Degree of 

Doctor of Philosophy 



LINCOLN, NEB. 
1913 



THE 
UPRISING OF JUNE 20, 1792 



BY 



LAURA B. PFEIFFER 



A DISSERTATION 

Presented to the Faculty of the Academic College of the 

University of Nebraska, in Partial Fulfilment of 

THE Requirements for the Degree of 

Doctor of Philosophy 



LINCOLN, NEB. 
1913 






PRESS OF 

THE NEW ERA PRINTJNG COMPANY 

LANCASTER, PA. 






AD 



TO 

HER TEACHER AND FRIEND 

FRED MORROW FLING, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF EUROPEAN HISTORY IN THE 
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 

TO WHOSE LARGE, VARIED AND ACCURATE LEARNING, 
MASTERLY HISTORICAL METHOD, AND DEVOTION TO 
SCHOLARLY IDEALS SHE IS INDEBTED FOR THE BEST 
IN WHAT SHE HAS WROUGHT, THIS WORK IS AFFEC- 
TIONATELY DEDICATED BY 

THE AUTHOR 



[Reprinted from University Studies, Vol. XII, No. 3, 1913-] 



THE UPRISING OF JUNE 20, 1792 

BY LAURA B. PFEIFFER 

CONTENTS 

Chapter I. Introduction 199 

Chapter II. The Decrees of the Assembly 207 

Chapter III. The Fall of the Girondist Ministry 215 

Chapter IV. The Feuillant Ministry 221 

Chapter V. The 20th of June 226 

OUTLINE 

I. Introduction 199 

A. Struggle between the king and French people 200 

1. The calling of the states-general 200 

2. Struggle between " divine right " and sovereignty 

of the people 201 

a. Oath of the Tennis Court 201 

b. The destruction of the Bastille 202 

c. The 4th of August decrees 202 

d. The declaration of rights 202 

e. Calling of the regiment of Flanders 202 

/. King's intrigue with foreign powers 203 

g. Attempted flight of the king 203 

h. Declaration of war on Austria 205 

i. The decrees of the assembly 206 

y. The fall of the Girondist ministry 206 

k. The uprising of the 20th of June 206 

II. The decrees of the assembly 207 

A. Led to a clash with the king 207 

B. Needed for public safety 208 

C. Three decrees passed 209 

I. Decree against the priests 209 

197 



2 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

2. Decree dissolving king's guard 209 

3. Decree for 20,000 federes 212 

D. The king vetoes the decrees 214 

I. Popular feeling aroused 215 

III. The fall of the Girondist ministry 215 

A. Ministry urges king to sanction decrees 216 

B. Roland's letter to the king 217 

1. Insists on king's sanction 218 

2. Offends the king 218 

■C. The ministry dismissed 219 

I. The people indignant 220 

a. Demand its recall 220 

D. Dumouriez retained in the ministry 220 

1. King still refuses sanction 220 

2, Dumouriez resigns 221 

IV. The Feuillant ministry , 22 1 

A. Dominated by Lafayette 221 

B. Lafayette's letters 221 

1 . To the assembly 221 

a. A threatening tone 222 

b. Arouses indignation of France 222 

2. To the king 223 

a. Urges him to maintain veto 223 

C. King's veto announced, June 19 225 

1. Great indignation in Paris 225 

2. Leads to the uprising 225 

V. The 20th of June 226 

A. The plan formed 234 

I. The meeting with Santerre 234 

a. To plant a liberty tree 235 

h. To present petition to king and assembly . . 235 

B. The action of the authorities 236 

1. Council refuses permission to march 238 

2. The mayor is indififerent 239 

C. The night of June 19-20 240 

1. The department decree against the movement . . 241 

2. The sections sit all night 243 

3. Mayor forced to act by directory 246 

a. Calls municipality for morning 247 

D. The morning of June 20 247 

1. The directory remains firm 248 

2. Mayor acts under pressure 249 

a. Commands chiefs not to assemble 249 

3. The faubourgs assemble 251 

198 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 3 

4. The assembly meets. — Noon 259 

a. Roederer reports the situation 260 

i'. Urges action 260 

5. The procession is at the door 264 

E. The procession 265 

1. (Dutside the assembly hall 267 

a. Plants liberty tree 272 

h. Municipal officers try to keep order 273 

c. Gate of garden of Tuileries forced 274 

2. The petitioners enter the hall 275 

a. Saint-Huguin reads a petition 275 

3. The citizens march through the hall 280 

4. The Carrousel invaded 284 

a. The crowd confused but peaceable 286 

5. The royal gate is forced 289 

a. The crowd enters the chateau 290 

6. The Tuileries invaded 291 

a. The king in presence of the people 295 

i'. Puts on liberty cap 297 

2'. Tries to speak 297 

h. Cries — " Recall the ministers ", " Sanction 

the decrees " 299 

c. Deputations from assembly enter 301 

d. The mayor intervenes 308 

i'. Clears the apartments 313 

e. The queen's apartment invaded 316 

i'. She joins the king 316 

/. The crowd passes out 319 

i'. The chateau is silent 320 

F. The meeting of the assembly 321 

I. Reports of the invasion 321 

VI. Conclusion 324 



I 

Introduction 

Viewed not simply as an incident in the history of the legisla- 
tive assembly but regarded in the light of the larger movement of 
the revolution, the uprising of the 20th of June, 1792, becomes 
one of the turning points in the long struggle of an arbitrary 
monarch against the attempt of the French people to establish and 

199 



4 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

maintain a constitution. The struggle began with the opening 
of the States-General in 1789, and ended with the suspension of 
the king on August 10, 1792. 

During the early part of this struggle the French people looked 
upon Louis XVI as their "bon roi," in sympathy with the move- 
ment for the regeneration of France. Although at first attributing 
his resistance to their proposed reforms, and his delay in approv- 
ing them to the influence of his entourage, they gradually became 
convinced that both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were play- 
ing a dishonest part. When it was fully recognized that the king 
and queen were unwilling to accept the constitution in good faith 
their overthrow became inevitable.^ 

Whatever the idea of the king and his ministry may have been 
in calling the States-General, there was a firm conviction in the 
minds of the French people that the main purpose of the assembly 
was to be the reformation of the government. This is evident 
from the cahiers.^ A study of these documents makes clear that 
all classes — clergy, nobility, and the third estate — were insistent in 
the demand for a constitution. It was probably not the intention 
of the government that the people should interpret the letter of 
convocation^ in this definite way, but considered in the light of the 
Resultat du conseil of December 27, 1788, such an interpretation 
does not seem to lack justification.* 

To grasp fully the significance of the struggle, it must be under- 
stood that the third estate, representing the overwhelming ma- 
jority of the French people, considered themselves instructed by 
their constituents to put an end to arbitrary power and to establish 
equality before the law. While the accomplishment of the latter 
end might bring them into conflict with the clergy and the nobility, 
there seemed to be no sufficient reason why they should not receive 
the support of the king. For centuries he had been regarded as 



^ Fling, " The Oath of the Tennis Court," 2, 3. 

^ Champion, La France d'apres les cahiers de 1789, chap. III. 

' Brette, Recueil de documents relatifs a la convocation des etats-gen- 
eraux de 1789, I, 64-66. 

* Moniteur, Introduction, 509; Aulard, Etudes et legons, 4 serie (1893), 
41-51. 

200 



The Uprising of June 20^ ly^B 5 

the adversary of the privileged orders and it was but natural that 
the third estate should look to him for leadership in this crisis. 
Consequently they expected on his part at least a policy of non- 
resistance to their efforts. 

But in this expectation they were disappointed. If in the dis- 
cussion of the verification of credentials at the opening of the 
States-General, the king did not at first declare himself in favor 
of either party, it was possible for the third estate to interpret his 
action in a manner favorable to their cause. But when, under the 
stress of circumstances, the third estate declared itself national 
assembly, the king abandoned his neutral policy, attempted to 
undo the work of the third estate and threw his protection over 
the privileged classes. This reactionary policy at length brought 
the king into conflict with the representatives of the majority of 
the French people.^ 

That the struggle was one for supremacy between the old con- 
ception of " divine right " and the new conception of the sover- 
eignty of the people became clear on the 20th of June, 1789. 
Under pretext of preparing the hall of the third estate for the 
meeting of the royal session, called for June 22, the doors were 
closed to the deputies on the 20th. Moved by the fear that the 
government intended to dissolve the assembly, the commons took 
the famous oath of the tennis court in which they proclaimed that 
no one had the right to suspend their sessions. The resolution 
affirmed that nothing could prevent the assembly " from continu- 
ing its deliberations in whatsoever place it might establish itself." 
"At that moment, the assembly asserted its supremacy over the 
royal authority, virtually declaring itself supreme in the state. "^ 

Ignoring this declaration, the king persisted in his reactionary 
policy and on June 23 held the royal session. Here he annulled 
the previous decrees of the assembly and promised a series of 
reforms including most of the demands of the cahiers, but he 
made no satisfactory concessions concerning the organization and 
periodical meetings of the States-General, thus making the fulfil- 



Christophelsmeier, "The First Revolutionary Step." 
'Fling, "The Oath of the Tennis Court," 7, 8. 



201 



6 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

ment of his promises depend upon his own good will. Undis- 
mayed by the display of force made by the government, the com- 
mons disobeyed the king's orders to separate, persisted in their 
previous decrees, and protected their members by a declaration 
of inviolability. Being impressed by the sturdy attitude of the 
commons and influenced by the public agitation in Paris and Ver- 
sailles, the king, unwilling at this time to use force, brought about 
the union of the three orders on June 27. 

But this act in no sense marked the reconciliation of the king 
with the new order of things. His attitude became more aggress- 
ive and the appeal to force, not made on the 23d of June, was 
attempted the second week in July, when the uprising of Paris 
and the fall of the Bastille forced the king to withdraw the troops 
from Paris and Versailles and to recognize the supremacy of the 
assembly.'^ 

Having failed in this appeal to force, the resistance to the new 
order of things on the part of the king now assumed a more passive 
form. The new policy was shown in his attitude toward such acts 
of the assembly as required his sanction to give them the force of 
law. He delayed the promulgation of the 4th of August decrees, 
making them public only under the most extreme pressure from 
the assembly. He followed the same policy of procrastination 
in accepting the declaration of rights and the articles of the con- 
stitution, declining to approve them unless the executive power 
were left absolutely in the hands of the monarch.^ 

The calling of the regiment of Flanders was looked upon by the 
people of Paris as an attempt on the part of the king to maintain 
his position in opposition to all influence that might be brought to 
bear by the populace of Paris. It was even thought that the regi- 
ment was to be used to cover his flight, if that became necessary. 
The banquet of the bodyguard at Versailles served to strengthen 
this belief and led to the uprising of October 5. 

'' Caron, "La tentative de contre-revolution de juin-juillet 1789," in 
Revue d'histoire moderne, VIII, 5-34, 649-78; Flammermont, Le 14 juillet 
1789. 

' Stoddard, " The Causes of the Insurrection of the 5th and 6th of 
October," 23-25. 

202 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 7 

One aim at least of this movement was to bring the king to 
Paris and so withdraw him from the influence of both the court 
party and the moderates in the assembly .« This plan having been 
successfully carried out, again it was believed that the king's 
resistance to the revolution would cease. 

But his change of residence did not effect a change of the king's 
purpose and his resistance only sought a new channel. Neither 
open force nor passive resistance had been able to prevent the 
abolition of privilege, the promulgation of a declaration of rights, 
nor the establishment of the bases of a constitution. To his policy 
of bad faith, to which he still adhered, the king now added a new 
policy of foreign intervention. He appealed to the powers of 
Europe to aid him in his attempt to render futile the efforts of the 
French people to establish a constitution." Marie Antoinette was 
in constant communication with the Emperor Leopold and was 
even more bitter than the king against the revolution. She had 
no intention of abiding by the constitution and it was understood 
that her influence controlled the court.^^ So far did the king carry 
this double-dealing as to accept publicly the constitution which he 
was secretly plotting to destroy. In the speech delivered before 
the assembly, February 4, 1790, he proclaimed his attachment to 
the new order of things, promised to defend and maintain the 
constitution, and to train the dauphin to follow in his footsteps as 
a constitutional ruler.^^ It was this long course of dissimulation 
and international intrigue, entered upon both by Louis and his 
queen, that led to their ruin.^^ 

The attempted flight of the royal family June 21, 179 1, rendered 
certain what up to that time had been a matter of suspicion. The 
duplicity of the king was laid bare before the eyes of all France. 

'Stoddard, "The Causes of the Insurrection of the Sth and 6th of 
October," 38-47. 

^"Cambridge Modern History, VIII, 215; Flammermont, Nkgociations 
secretes, 5-9. 

"Sorel, UEurope et la revolution frangaise, II, 436; Clapham, Causes 
of the War of 1792, Chap. II, also 90, 190. 

^Moniteur, III, 297. 

^ Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, 24-27. 

203 



8 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

It was made clear beyond doubt by the document left behind him 
in which he justified his acts and confessed that he had never 
accepted the revolution in good faith.^* In the face of such a con- 
fession the assembly persisted in its efforts to reconcile the king 
to the new order of things. Arrested and brought back to Paris, 
he was suspended from power and placed under guard until the 
constitution was finished. Then set at liberty, he was permitted 
to accept or reject the constitution. Again he perjured himself. 
Having publicly accepted the new constitution he at once entered 
into secret negotiations with the king of Prussia for an armed 
congress of the powers to help him reestablish a more desirable 
order of things in France.^^ 

There followed then under the legislative assembly, a period of 
pretense of administering the government under the new constitu- 
tion during which time the king, though acting within constitu- 
tional limits, was wholly out of sympathy with the new state of 
things.^® 

The armed congress had long been the idea of Marie Antoinette 
and her agents at Brussels had numerous allies in the French 
army.^'^ The Emperor Leopold had decided as early as January, 
1792, upon armed intervention.^^ This attitude of Austria aggra- 
vated the situation.^® Its presumptuous interference in the in- 



" Glagau, Die fransosische Legislative, 1-3 ; Histoire parlementaire, X, 
269-74; Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. III. 

^ Moniteur, IX, 152, 655; Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. V; 
Flammermont, Negociations secretes, 9, Louis XVI to the King of Prussia, 
Dec. 3, 1791 ; Klinckowstrom, Le comte de Fersen et la cour de France, 
II, 193, Fersen to Gustavus III, March 4, 1792. 

^* Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. VI. 

" Klinckowstrom, Le comte de Fersen et la cour de France, I, 233 flf. 
Letters of Marie Antionette to Fersen, October and November, 1791. 
Arneth, Maria-Antoinette, Joseph II und Leopold II, 259, Mercy to Kaun- 
itz, April 8, 1792. 

" Flammermont, Negociations secretes, 16, Schulembourg to Breteuil, 
Feb. 13, 1792; Vivenot, Quellen zur Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserpolitik 
Oesterreichs, I, 327-70. 

" Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. VII ; Roederer, Chronique 
de cinquante jours, 4; Arneth, Maria- Antoinette, Joseph II und Leopold 
II, 253, Mercy to Marie Antoinette, March, 1792. 

204 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 9 

ternal affairs of France-^" and the weak policy of the existing 
ministry, led the assem'bly to force a Girondist ministry upon the 
king, March 12, 1792, The following month, April 20, the as- 
sembly, on the proposition of the king acting on the advice of the 
new ministry, declared war against Austria.^^ The responsibility 
of this war, however, can not be charged to the new ministry but 
to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the king of Prussia and the 
king of Hungary. ^^ The king gladly accepted the situation as it 
offered him a possible means of cooperation with foreign states 
and would thus enable him to realize his plan of dictating to 
France under the protection of foreign armies. He continued 
his secret negotiations with Prussia and Austria and had no seri- 
ous intention of repelling the Prussian invasion while Marie 
Antoinette even counted the days that must pass before the arrival 
of the enemy in Paris.^^ 

The situation was a most serious one for France. The treason 
of the king was suspected by the assembly and it was realized 
that the country and the constitution must be saved in spite of 
him. Vigorous measures were necessary and the Girondins intro- 
duced them into the assembly. The increasing disorder in the 
provinces, instigated by the priests who had not taken the oath to 
the constitution, led to the passage of a decree against the non- 
juring clergy, May 27, 1792. The continued suspicion as to the 
king's good faith in the defensive operations of the war and the 



^ Vivenot, Quellen sur Geschichte der dentschen Kaiserpolitik Oester- 
reichs, I, 433; Klinckowstrom, Le comte de Fersen et la cour de France, 
II, 226, Dispatch of Caraman to Breteuil, April 10, 1792. 

^ Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. VIII, IX. 

^ Flammermont, Negociations secretes, 23, 28, 30; Mellie, Les sections 
de Paris pendant la revolution frangaise, 104. 

^ Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, chap. X ; Aulard, Histoire polit- 
ique de la revolution frangaise, 185 ; Sorel, L'Europe et la revolution fran- 
gaise, II, 436; Klinckowstrom, Le comte de Fersen et la cour de France, 
II, 242, Fersen to Marie Antoinette, April 24, 1792; 286, Fersen to Marie 
Antoinette, June 2, 1792; 298, Fersen to Marie Antoinette, June 11, 1792; 
318, Marie Antoinette to Fersen, July 6, 1792; Arneth, Marie Antoinette, 
Joseph II und Leopold II, 266, Mercy to the Queen, July 9, 1792; Flam- 
mermont, Negociations secretes, 29-30, Breteuil to Schulembourg July 4, 
1792 and July 14, 1792. 

205 



10 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

fear of his body guard, which was hostile to the assembly, led to 
the decrees for the dismissal of the body guard, May 29, 1792, 
and for the formation of the camp of federes, June 8.^* The 
purpose of the latter decree was to intimidate the king and to 
protect the assembly. 

While the king hesitated to accept these decrees, Roland pre- 
sented him a letter urging him to sign them. The king's deter- 
mination to veto them led to the dismissal of the Girondist 
ministry, June 12.-^ 

This action precipitated a crisis. When the king vetoed the 
decree against the clergy and that providing for the camp of 
federes, he was acting within his constitutional rights, but the 
assembly believed he was using this technical right to deliver 
France into the hands of her enemies. The French people, then, 
must either submit to the indignity of being delivered over to 
Austria and Prussia and suffer the loss of consititutional govern- 
ment, or violate the very constitution that they had created. 

The uprising of June 20 was the last peaceful attempt made by 
the people of Paris to induce the king to abandon his policy of 
duplicity and to govern in sympathy with the revolution, in 
accordance with the wishes of the assembly, to defend France 
against foreign invasion and to save the constitution. They hoped 
to induce him to withdraw his veto and recall the Girondist 
ministers, but the plan failed.^'' The people's answer was the 
loth of August and the suspension of the king.^'^ Examined thus 
in its connection with the revolution as a whole, the action of the 
people of Paris on June 20 becomes intelligible and its profound 
significance stands revealed. 



^ Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 5 ; Chaumette, Memoires, 4. 
^Madame Roland, Memoires, I, 450; Aulard in Revolution frangaise, 
XXXV, 525; Chaumette, Memoires, 5. 
^^ Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, 212. 
" Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 7. 



206 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 ii 

II 

The Decrees of the Assembly 

In the spring of 1792, the ministry of Louis XVI was divided. 
The minority, supported by the Feuillants, led by the Lameths 
and by the minority of the assembly, were opposed to war with 
Austria and were secretly plotting a reconstruction of the con- 
stitution in the interest of the monarch and the aristocracy.^ In 
this work they counted on the support of Austria. The Girond- 
ist majority in the assembly compelled the retirement of the 
ministry representing this policy and on March 12, a new minis- 
try, in sympathy with the dominant party in the assembly, was 
forced upon the king.^ This Girondist ministry stood for the 
vigorous prosecution of the war, for the maintenance of consti- 
tutional government, and for the restoration of order in France.^ 
It was not, however, a harmonious ministry, Dumouriez being 
the disturbing element. He was at variance with his colleagues, 
selfishly ambitious, and suspected of far-reaching designs.* 

In the effort to carry out its policy, the new ministry naturally 
found itself in opposition to the king who by the use of his con- 
stitutional veto was endeavoring to control the situation until the 
allies should reach Paris. The clash came as the result of the 
assembly's decrees concerning the clergy, the king's guard and 

^ Mercy states that the party of the Lameths and Duport wished to es- 
tablish two chambers similar to the English form of government but that 
the queen objected to this arrangement. She engaged him to present her 
objections to the Abbe Louis who had been employed by the Lameths to 
influence her through Mercy. Glagau, Die fransosische Legislative, 320, 
Mercy to Kaunitz, Brussels, May 30, 1792. 

^The members of this ministry were Roland, minister of Interior, 
Servan, minister of war, Claviere, minister of finance. Duranthon, La- 
coste and Dumouriez were the other members, but the first three named 
were regarded as representatives of the Girondist majority. 

* Sorel, L'Europe et la revolution frangaise, II, 299-403 ; Von Sybel, 
History of the French Revolution, 1, 40S-70. 

* Revolutions de Paris, XII, 522; Memoires de Madame Roland, I, 395 ff ; 
Oelsner in Revue Historique, LXXXIII, 308. 

207 



12 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

the camp of 20,000 federes near Paris, all of which were looked 
upon by the assembly as necessary measures. 

The decree against the priests was considered essential to the 
suppression of civil war; the dissolution of the king's guard was 
regarded as imperative because of its lack of loyalty to the 
assembly and its well-known devotion to the king who, it was 
feared, might use it for his own ends ; the camp of 20,000 federes 
was decreed for the purpose of protecting the assembly and 
guarding Paris. ^ The king naturally wanted no such protection. 
Louis permitted the dissolution of his body guard, but his con- 
science forbade him to sanction the decree against the priests and 
his good common sense led him to veto the decree for the camp." 

The action of the assembly had to a large extent been due to 
the pressure of public sentiment. There was great agitation in 
the Jacobin club where these questions were freely discussed and 
criticized.'^ The populace of Paris was in a state of violent 
excitement and at the first decisive news of the war might go to 
any extremity.® Indignation against the queen was very pro- 
nounced and the pretext for an attack upon her was found in 
Brissot's attempt to show the existence of an " Austrian com- 
mittee" of which she was said to be the head.^ The court party, 
frightened at the sentiment against it, strove to fix upon the 
Orleanist party the responsibility for the origin of the report of 
the existence of a so-called "Austrian committee."" In this 
state of affairs there was nothing for the assembly to do but to 
take vigorous action for the restoration of order. 

° Chaumette, Memoires, 4; L'indicateur says (XXXII, June 20, 1792), 
in regard to the decree for an armed camp that it was a legal method for 
bringing armed men from the south to Paris, thus establishing a dic- 
tatorship of the departments. The Indicateur was hostile to the Giron- 
dists. 

" Sorel, L'Europe et la revolution frangaise, II, 479. 

'' Aulard, La societe des Jacobins, III, S99-697; IV, 2-23. 

^ Bacourt, Correspondance entre le comte de Mirabeau et le conite de 
La March, III, 305-08. 

° Glagau, Die franzosische Legislative, 321, Pellenc to La Marck, end of 
May, 1792; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 329; L'indicateur, XXXII, June 
20, 1792. 

^^ Revolutions de Paris, XII, 432, 467. 

208 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 13 

Looking toward this end the assembly had passed the series of 
decrees already mentioned, the first of which was directed against 
the priests who had refused the oath to the civil constitution. 
Religious disturbances necessitated some decisive action against 
them for it would have been incompatible with the preservation 
of the state to treat longer as members of society those who were 
evidently seeking to dissolve it.^^ To consent to the project of 
assembling the non-juring priests in the chief places of the depart- 
ments would have been equal to creating eighty-three centers of 
discord, fanaticism, and counter-revolution. The country must 
be purged. Such was the feeling of the majority of the 
assembly.^^ 

After a discussion of several days, the assembly, actuated by 
the fear of the overthrow of the constitution, passed the follow- 
ing decree, May 27, 1792:^^ "When twenty active citizens of a 
canton shall demand that a non-juring priest leave the realm, the 
directory of the department must pronounce his deportation, if 
the opinion of the directory conforms to the petition. If the 
opinion of the directory does not conform to the demand of the 
twenty citizens, it shall determine through committees whether 
the presence of the priest is a menace to public peace, and if the 
opinion of the committee conforms to the demand of the twenty 
petitioners, the deportation shall be ordered."^^ This decree 
placed the clergy between the oath and deportation, but while 
they trembled at the assembly's project many still refused to take 
the oath.^^ 

This measure was followed by another directed against the 
king's bodyguard. The guard had allowed anti-revolutionary 
sentiments to escape it and had uttered menaces against the 

^ Revolutions de Paris, XII, 390 ; Louis Blanc, Histoire de la revolution 
frangaise, VIII, 17 ; Memoires de Madame Roland, I, 386 ; Carro, Santerre, 
106. 

"^Correspondance de Thomas Lindet, 348-50; Chaumette, Memoires, 4- 

"Morris, Diary and Letters, II, 535- 

^*Moniteur, XII, 483, 56o. 

^^ Revolution de Paris, XII, 390; Correspondance de Thomas Lindet, 

347-53- 

209 



14 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

assembly.^^ It was believed to be royalist in its sympathies and 
wholly devoted to the person of the king, pervaded with the 
spirit of incivism and wholly lacking in esprit de corps. On May 
28, Bazire proposed its dissolution, charging orgies of its officers 
and a plan for carrying away the king and asked that he be 
allowed to give his proofs the following day.^'^ Chabot declared 
on the same day that he had one hundred and eighty-two docu- 
ments which proved the existence of a plot to dissolve the assem- 
bly.^^ Following a report of a counterplot, set for May 27, the 
assembly decreed that its sessions should be permanent, that the 
Paris guard should be doubled, and that Petion should be re- 
quired to report upon the state of the capital daily. ^'^ 

At nine o'clock on the morning of May 29, Petion reported 
that the night had been calm and nothing announced a disturb- 
ance. He had scarcely finished his report when with a great 
uproar, a crowd from the section of the Gobelins demanded 
admission to the hall. Armed with pikes, guns, and forks, 
dressed in sans-culottes and red caps, and preceded by grena- 
diers, they crossed the hall with drums beating and ranged 
themselves around the assembly, swearing to sacrifice themselves 
to defend it.^*' 

Bazire thereupon presented his report for the dissolution of 
the king's guard. He pointed out that the greatest irregularities 
existed in its organization, that a large number of its members 
were ineligible, its ranks being filled with youths, priests, men 
from Coblentz, and some former Swiss guards. He showed that 
these defenders of the chateau were possessed by a spirit of 
counter-revolution which might overturn the actual regime. He 
charged orgies of officers in which the troopers had joined in 
drinking the health of the king, the queen and the prince. 

^^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 305. 

" Moniteur, XII, 508. 

^Moniteur, XII, 513; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 418. 

" Histoire parlementaire, XIV, 297 ff. 

^'^Moniteur, XII, 508; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 378; Lindet, Corres- 
pondance, IV. The assembly held an uninterrupted session May 28, 29, 
30, 31, indicating the critical state of public afifairs. 

210 



The Uprising of June 20, j/p^ ig 

Couthon spoke of a conspiracy with the Tuileries at its head. 
Scenes in the barracks were depicted in which white flags had 
been found together with royahst songs and pamphlets attack- 
ing the assembly. White cockades had been distributed among 
the Swiss, libels on representatives of the people had been myste- 
riously thrown about, and the cry, " To the devil with the nation," 
was heard in the court of the Tuileries. The most extraordinary 
excitement prevailed in the assembly and this was increased by 
the insolence of the royalist members.^^ 

Public suspicion was strong against the king. It was felt that 
he was in secret correspondence with his brothers, that he was 
protecting the emigres and that he was surrounded by enemies of 
the country. To dissolve the guard might baffle a plot and para- 
lyze the work of the " Austrian committee."^^ 

The arguments were finally summed up by Gaudet who stated 
three reasons why the guard should be dissolved: first, it was 
illegally organized; second, its chiefs sought to inspire revolt; 
third, the majority favored a counter-revolution. The assembly 
decreed, May 29, 1792, that the guard should be dissolved and its 
commandant, the Due de Brissac, put under arrest. ^^ This decree 
was executed at once.^* 

After his ministers had showed him the danger and the use- 
lessness of resistance, Louis XVI signed unwillingly on May 31, 
the decree against his guard. He, however, assured the guard of 
his affection for them and his satisfaction at their service and 



"^Monxteur, XII, 513-16; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 420; Chaumette, 
Memoires, 5. 

^ Revolutions de Paris, XII, 382 ; Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 
306. 

^Moniteur, XII, 526-29. 

'^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 306 ; It was shown that an 
order had been given to the guard by Sombreuil, governor of the Hotel 
des Invalides, to allow all men who presented themselves armed from the 
king's guard or the king's household to enter the hotel during the night. 
This seemed to indicate that the Hotel des Invalides had been chosen as 
a meeting place for all malcontents. Sombreuil, summoned before the 
assembly May 29, admitted the charge, but explained nothing. Revolu- 
tions de Paris, XII, 382, 419, 420. 

211 



1 6 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

manifested the greatest sympathy for the Due de Brissac when 
that officer took leave of him to go to Orleans.^^ 

On the morning of May 30, Petion again reported the situation 
in Paris as tranquil. ^^ At the evening session, Louvet asked that 
all the sections of Paris be declared permanent, saying " It is 
necessary to take wise precautions that we may not one day be 
reduced to the frightful necessity of causing the blood of rebels 
to flow in the streets."-^ On May 31, Petion reported that tran- 
quility was perfectly established in Paris and in the evening the 
assembly closed its permanent session. ^^ 

Such was the situation when the assembly passed its third 
decree. This provided for a camp of 20,000 federes, to be assem- 
bled on June 14 near Paris. The proposition was made to the 
assembly June 4 by Servan, without previous consultation, it is 
said, either with his colleagues or with the king.^^ Servan urged 
in his proposition that the act was necessary to establish tran- 
quillity in the country. The decree itself states that its purpose is 
to draw fnore closely the bonds of fraternity between the depart- 
ments of France. The discussions in the assembly showed that 
the object of that body was to insure public security. The allies 
were approaching from without and enemies of the constitution 
were plotting from within. Paris and the assembly must have 
protection.^" 



'^ Memoires de Ferrieres, III, 76; Memoires de Madame Campan, II, 
202, 204; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 430, letter of D'Hervilly, a former 
commandant of the king's guard; Chaumette in his Memoires (5) states 
that the king issued a proclamation the next day calumniating the assembly 
and praising the zealous partisans in the guard, but Aulard in a note says 
he was not able to find this proclamation. 

^^Moniteur, XII, 531. 

'^ Moniteur, XII, 536; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 421. 

^ Moniteur, XII, 536; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 421, 424; Journal des 
debats et decrets. No. 246, p. 493. 

^ Moniteur, XII, 570; Memoires de Dumouries, II, 267; Petion in an 
article entitled. Avis a mes concitoyens, published in Annales patriotiques 
June 20, 1792, says that although he and Servan were closely associated at 
this time, Servan had not communicated his project to him. 

^^ Moniteur, XII, 570-96; Blanc-Gilli (Lettre d'un depute de VassemUei 

212 



The Uprising of June 20, iyg2 17 

Servan's proposition was put in the form of a motion by 
Merlin, and after a discussion of two days it was passed, June 6.^^ 
It provided in seven articles for the formation of a camp of 
20,000 federes, recruited from all France in the ratio of five men 
per canton, to be assembled near Paris, July 14, while all the 
troops of the line now in the capital should immediately be sent 
to the frontiers.^^ 

On June 7, it was voted that the twenty thousand should be 
armed and equipped by the nation. Then followed a discussion 
upon the manner of choosing the required number of men, should 
the number enrolled exceed that allowed for each canton.'^ On 
June 8, it was decided by article seven that the choice should be 
made by the entire number enrolled, in the presence of the 
municipality.^* 

Servan's decree met with strong opposition. In the Jacobin 
club, Robespierre opposed it as useless and dangerous. He asked 
why the army was to be brought to Paris and not directed to the 
frontiers. He feared the enemies of equality would become 
masters of the capital. He believed, too, that article seven would 
become a source of trouble, that it would prove ruinous to the 
Girondins.^^ Dumouriez violently reproached Servan in the coun- 
cil meeting for not having presented the decree to the council 



nationale au departement des Bouches-du-Rhone) writing to his constitu- 
ents, June 21, 1792, asserted that Servan's proposition was meant to stir 
up the people; that it was not his own invention but was suggested to 
him by republican conspirators; that only on this supposition could one 
explain the letters written from Paris to Toulon and Marseilles early in 
May announcing the coming federation and asking the people to prepare 
their arms. Then he added that all this indicated a plan to massacre a 
number of functionaries of the nation and the royal family. 

^Moniteur, XII, 571, 592. 

^ Ibid., XII, 607, gives the final wording of the decree; Mortimer-Ter- 
naux, Histoire de la Terreur, I, 115; Louis Blanc, Histoire de la revolu- 
tion frangaise, VIII, 26. 

^Moniteur, XII, 604. 

^Ibid., XII, 607. 

^'Aulard, La societe des Jacobins, III, 668. 

213 



1 8 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

first and but for the presence of the king the altercation between 
these two ministers might have led to blows. ^^ 

Robespierre and Dumouriez were not alone in their opposition to 
the measure. It was also opposed by the party of the Feuillants.^^ 
Their leaders prepared a reactionary petition with 8,000 signa- 
tures, drawn largely from the members of the national guards. 
In this body there was much agitation because of Servan's speech, 
some of his expressions proving offensive to the Constitutionals. 
They seemed to question the loyalty of the national guard.^^ 

On the 8th and 9th of June, deputations from several batallions 
complained to the assembly of this attack and presented a peti- 
tion, requesting the withdrawal of the decree and protesting their 
devotion to liberty and the fatherland. ^^ For several sessions 
the assembly listened to accusations from partisans of the peti- 
tion and from those who denounced it. The Mountain here 
deftly changed the ground of attack from the decree to the peti- 
tion which had been circulated in the battalions for the purpose 
of extorting signatures. A letter asking for signatures, sent by 
the staff of the national guard to each battalion, was read to the 
assembly. *° It was charged that women also had been forced to 
sign the petition for their husbands.*^ On June 11, a number of 
persons appeared before the assembly to withdraw their signa- 
tures and among them an officer of the national guard.*^ 

Finally, on June 10, the assembly expelled from the hall as 
calumniators all petitioners who had expressed indignation either 

^^ Memoires de Dumouries, II, 268, 269; Oelsner in Revue historique, 
LXXXIII, 308; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 480. This contemporary news- 
paper claims that Dumouriez, two months before, advocated just such a 
camp to save Paris. 

^^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 308. 

^ Mortimer-Ternaux points out {Histoire de la terreur, I, 115) that 
the Moniteur does not give Servan's speech in full, but suppresses the ir- 
ritating phrases which were criticised in the petition which the national 
guard presented to the assembly. 

^^ Moniteur, XII, 605, 618, 622; Chaumette, Memoires, 5. 

^''Moniteur, XII, 618. 

*^ Revolutions de Paris, XII, 482. 

*^Ihid., XII, 509, 510; Moniteur, XII, 624-2,6, 638-40. 

214 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 19 

at the decree of the assembly or at the insinuations made against 
the national guard by the minister of war. They declared by 
another decree that the assembly could not listen to petitions 
which were the result of criminal intrigue. The Right, indignant 
at this decision, retired from the hall and when the president 
accorded the petitioners the honors of the session, the Left by a 
motion of adjournment disposed of the petitioners and of the 
question which they had forced upon the assembly.*^ 

Ill 

The Fall of the Girondist Ministry 

By the middle of June, the feeling of unrest, discontent, and 
fear had become general and pronounced. There was danger, it 
was believed, from the so-called Austrian faction, the Prussian 
army was approaching, treason existed everywhere and grain 
was getting dearer.^ 

Anarchy actually reigned. Would the assembly fill Paris with 
an army of national guards? Partisans and adversaries of the 
camp of federcs were continually on the point of coming to 
blows. A street orator came into the garden of the Tuileries to 
read a libel, preach the assassination of the king and foretell his 
overthrow.^ Marat, although he had been condemned, continued 

**Ternaux, Histoire de la terreur, I, 116; Moniteur, XII, 635. The 
Moniteur here states that the Left was the first to retire, but this is 
apparently a misstatement, as it was the Left that carried the measure 
against the petitioners. 

^ Lindet, Correspondance, 2?)^', Lescure, Correspondance secrete, 601-03, 
Lettre 20, Paris, 16 juin, 1792; Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 3. 

^ June 12, Delfaux, a member of the Right, denounced to the assembly a 
libel that an orator had read to a crowd in the garden of the Tuileries. 
Referring to Louis XVI, he said: "But this monster uses his power and 
his treasure to oppose the regeneration of the French. A new Charles 
IX, he wishes to bring upon France desolation and death. Go, cruel one, 
your crimes will have an end. Damiens was less culpable than you. He 
was punished with more horrible tortures for having wished to deliver 
France from a monster. And you, whose attempt is twenty-five million 
times greater, go unpunished. But tremble, tyrants, there is a Scaevola 
among us." Moniteur, XII, 642. 

215 



20 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

to write from his hiding place and filled his journal with invec- 
tives and threats of vengeance against those whom he accused of 
uniting with the court.^ In the Jacobin club, there were heated 
discussions upon the insolence of the Austrians, the dissolution 
of the guard, the suspected generals, and the traitorous priests.* 
In the council there were stormy scenes between Dumouriez and 
the three Girondist ministers, Roland, Servan, and Claviere.^ 

The public was impatiently awaiting the sanction of the 
decrees and the king's delay but confirmed the suspicions that 
were abroad concerning his bad faith. The decree against the 
priests had been in his hands since June 2 and its sanction was 
awaited even more impatiently than the sanction of the others.® 
The restlessness was increased by an event of June 3, the proces- 
sion of the Fete-dieu, on which occasion there had been much 
disorder caused by acts of violence and by insults addressed to 
officers by priests.'^ The newspapers by their reports and com- 
ments increased this unrest and the people of the faubourgs were 
becoming ever more irritated and threatened an uprising.^ 

While Paris was thus full of disorders and scandals, Dumou- 
riez urged the king to sanction the decrees, assuring him that 
without the aid of force he could not hope to override the sus- 
picions of the greater part of the nation, nor the rage of the 
Jacobins, nor the politics of the republican party.^ But the king 
asked for time to reflect. 

This state of affairs could not last. Someone must act. The 



'Ternaux, I, 118. 

*Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, III, S90-697; Lescure, Correspondance 
secrete, 601-03, lettre 20. 

® Memoires de Dumouries, II, 269-71 ; Memoires de Madame Roland, I, 
386. 

^ Moniteur, XII, 560. 

'' Histoire parlementaire, XIV, 424, contains the text of the municipal 
decree of June i against this procession; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 
492-94, gives a description of the procession. 

^Histoire parlementaire, XIV, 425, gives extracts from Brissot's Patriote 
frangais, June 4, and from Le tribune des patriotes. No. Ill, of Camilla 
Desmoulins. 

^Memoires de Dumouries, II, 269-73; Lescure, Correspondance secrete, 
lettre 20. 

216 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/g2 21 

ministry decided to force the hand of the king or to expose his 
treachery to the eyes of France. Roland took the initiative, 
making the delay in signing the decrees the occasion of a letter 
to the king — a letter famous in the history of the revolution. It 
has been aptly termed "the ultimatum of the Girondins to roy- 
alty."^° In this step he had the support of two of his colleagues, 
Servan and Claviere.^^ The letter was dated June 10 and un- 
doubtedly reflected the state of feeling of the majority of the 
French people. 

Roland stated that the enthusiasm for the constitution was so 
strong that the people were ready to die in its support ;^^ he 
assured the king that the effect of his attitude would be to en- 
courage his enemies and arouse defiance ;^^ he showed that fer- 
mentation was extreme throughout France and that the inflamed 
minds might be aroused to commit terrible deeds ;^* he added, 
furthermore, that the revolution was sure to be accomplished and 
that the king's action only caused suspicion and would result in 
the overthrow of the throne ;^^ and concluded with the assurance 



" Ternaux, I, 119. 

"Madame Roland states {Memoires, I, 387) that all the ministers ap- 
proved the idea of this letter to the king, but showed weakness when 
it came time to act. There is no other evidence to show that Dumouriez, 
Duranthon or Lacoste approved it. 

^^ " Les Frangais se sont donne une constitution ; elle a fait des mecon- 
tens et des rebelles; la majorite de la nation la veut maintenir; elle a 
jure de la defendre au prix de son sang. ... La declaration des droits est 
devenue un evangile politique; et la constitution frangaise, une religion 
pour laquelle le peuple est pret a perir. ... La revolution est faite dans les 
esprits : elle s'achevera au prix du sang et sera cimentee par lui." Mon- 
iteur, XII, 658. 

^ " Ces sentiments, qui tiennent a la nature du coeur humain, ont du entrer 
dans le calcul des ennemis de la revolution. lis ont done compte sur une 
faveur secrete, jusqu'a ce que les circonstances permissent une protection 
declaree. Ces dispositions ne pouvaient echapper a la nation elle-meme, 
et elles ont dii la tenir en defiance." Moniteur, XII, 658. 

^* " La fermentation est extreme dans toutes les parties de I'empire ; elle 
eclatera d'une maniere terrible." Moniteur, XII, 658. 

^° " Le salut de I'etat et le bonheur de Votre Majeste sont intimement lies ; 
aucune puissance n'est capable de les separer; de cruelles angoisses et des 

217 



22 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

that the remedy for the situation was to be found in the king's 
support of the assembly and the constitution and in his sanction 
of the decrees.^*' 

Just how this letter was communicated to the king is not known. 
According to Dumouriez, it was read in the council meeting June 
10, but according to Madame Roland it was sent to the king 
June II. Dumouriez accused Roland of bad faith respecting 
this letter, asserting that he promised the king that the letter 
should remain a secret between them and then read it to the 
council and sent it to the assembly. ^'^ His statement is not 
convincing. 

The feeling at the court was very bitter. The king was indig- 
nant at what he considered an insult. On the following morning 
Dumouriez, who was now at the height of royal favor, was called 
to the chateau.^® He found the king and queen together. The 

malheurs certains environneront votre trone, s'il n'est appuye par vous- 
meme sur les bases de la constitution." Ibid. 

^'' " Le retard de leur sanction inspire des defiances : s'il est prolonge, il 
causera des mecontens. . . . que votre Majeste lui donne sa sanction! la 
tranquillite publique la reclame. Pourquoi faut-il que des retards lui don- 
nent I'air du regret, lorsque la celerite lui gagnerait tous les coeurs ! . . . 
deja I'opinion compromet les intentions de Votre Majeste." Ibid.; "II est 
evident pour la nation frangaise que sa constitution peut marcher; que le 
gouvernment aura toute la force qui lui est necessaire, du moment oiJ 
Votre Majeste, voulant absolument le triomphe de cette constitution, 
soutiendra le corps legislatif de toute la puissance de I'execution, otera tout 
pretexte aux inquietudes du peuple, et tout espoir aux mecontens." Ibid.; 
See the letter in full, Moniteur, XII, 658. This letter w^as written by 
Madame Roland, though she and Roland had agreed on the groundwork 
of it. Memoires de Madame Roland, I, 387, Roederer (Chronique de 
cinquante jours, 8) refers to it as written by Roland, but he wrote thirty 
years after and we do not know his authority. 

" Dumouriz says the letter began, " Sire, cette lettre-ci restera eternelle- 
ment ensevelie entre vous et moi." Neither this nor any similar passage 
is found in the letter as published in the Memoires of Madame Roland 
nor in the Moniteur. It is difficult to say whether Roland cut out from 
his letter the expression that would have inconvenienced him or whether 
Dumouriez reported what would have aggravated Roland's mistakes. 
Memoires de Dumouriez, II, 274. Moniteur, XII, 658. 

^^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 308. 

218 



The Uprising of June 20, lygz 23 

queen, he tells us, broke in with, " Do you think that the king 
ought to endure longer the menaces and insolence of Roland and 
the deceit of Servan and Claviere ?" Dumouriez assured her that 
he did not think so and that he wondered at the patience of the 
king. He advised an entire change of ministers. The king 
thereupon expressed a wish that Dumouriez, Lacoste, and Duran- 
thon remain. Dumouriez agreed only on condition that the king 
would sanction the decrees and this condition he asserts the king 
accepted.^^ 

The fall of the Girondist ministry followed close upon the 
publication of the letter. Servan was dismissed on June 12, and 
Roland and Claviere on the following day. On June 13, these 
three men appeared in the assembly. A letter was read from 
Servan announcing his dismissal and stating the reasons. The 
assembly voted, amidst great applause, that he carried with him 
the esteem and regrets of the nation and that his letter should be 
printed and copies sent to the eighty-three departments. There- 
upon a letter from the king announcing the dismissal of the 
ministers was read as well as letters from Roland and Claviere 
announcing their dismissal. The climax was reached with the 
reading of Roland's letter to the king. It made a profound 
impression upon the assembly, being interrupted by frequent 
applause and was received with marked approbation. The printing 
of the letter was decreed and it was voted to send copies to the 
eighty-three departments. The regrets of the nation were voted 
to Roland and after some objection to Claviere.^" 

The situation now grew clearer. This letter with all its attend- 
ing circumstances, followed by the dismissal of the ministry, 
made it plain to all France that the king was holding firmly to 
his policy of determined opposition to the constitution. The 
action of the assembly proved just as clearly, that the sympathy 



^^ Memoires de Dumouriez, II, 275-79. Royalist writers doubt whether 
the king ever agreed to sanction the decree against the priests. See Ter- 
naux, I, 120; Morris, Diary and Letters, I, 544. 

-" Moniteur, XII, 656-59; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 516; Memoires de 
Dumouries, II, 290-91; Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 310; Les- 
cure, Correspondance secrete, 601-03, lettre 20. 

219 



24 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

of the representatives of the nation was with the dismissed 
ministry, and the sending of Roland's letter to the eighty- three 
departments was nothing else than an appeal to the nation.^^ 

The names of the men who were to replace the fallen ministers 
were announced to the assembly on June 13 in a letter from the 
king.^^ Dumouriez was leader of this ministry.^^ 

On the same day that the dismissal of the Girondist ministry 
was made public, Dumouriez, as minister of war, read a memoire 
in the assembly, upon the department of war, in which he 
criticized his predecessors, Degrave and Servan, complained of 
the deplorable state of the army and reported that several strong 
places were in a defenceless condition.^* He was frequently 
interrupted by murmurs. The Left at once accused him of 
treason and threatened to send him to the high court of Orleans 
and decreed that he must lay before the assembly within twenty- 
four hours, documents in proof of his assertions. They reasoned 
that if his accusations were true, he was a criminal for having 
precipitated the country into war at such a time and if they were 
not true he was a calumniator.^^ 

But the anger of the assembly was mild compared with that 
of the Jacobins and of the press. Dumouriez was unsparingly con- 
demned by both.2^ Fearing an uprising, he again urged the king 
to sanction the decrees, but Louis continued to procrastinate, 
asking for a little more time, and so kept Dumouriez expecting 
his sanction.^^ Finally the king refused to sign and Dumouriez, 

"^ Lescure, Correspondance secrete, 601-603, lettre 20. 

^^ Moniteur, XII, 657; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 516; Memories de 
Dumouriez, II, 280-81. 

^ The other members of the new ministry were Mourgues, minister of 
interior and M. de Neuillac of foreign affairs. Duranthon and Lacoste 
remained and the ministry of finance was left vacant. King's letter, Mon- 
iteur, XII, 657; Chaumette, Memoires, 6, note 2; Bacourt, Correspondance 
entre le comte de Mirabeau et le comte de La Marck, III, 311, Montmorin 
to La Marck, June 19, 1792. 

'* Moniteur, XII, 669 gives the complete memoire. 

'"Ibid., XII, 660. 

'"Aulard, La societe des Jacobins, IV, 2-3; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 
522, ff. 

^ Memoires de Dumouriez, II, 295. 

220 



The Uprising of June 20, iyg2 25 

realizing that it was useless to urge him further, resigned, three 
days after the Girondins had fallen. Much to his surprise — for 
he seems to have believed himself indispensable — ^his resignation 
was accepted.^^ His was a short and an inglorious ministry. 

It was clear now that the king, who was a past-master in 
deception, had used Dumouriez only to get rid of Roland. But 
even this injustice brought little sympathy or regret for the fallen 
minister as he was generally regarded as an adventurer and an 
intriguer and it was even said that he was a traitor.^^ 



IV 

The Feuillant Ministry 

The king, in a last effort to carry out his anti-revolutionary 
policy, chose a new ministry, the third in as many months. The 
letter announcing the appointment was read to the assembly on 
June 18, but these ministerial changes were so common that the 
assembly paid little heed to it. Of the old ministry Duranthon 
and Lacoste were retained, Chambonas was made minister of 
foreign affairs, Lajard of war, Terrier de Montciel of the inte- 
rior, and Beaulieu of finance. The new ministry represented the 
Feuillant element in the assembly and was dominated by 
Lafayette.^ 

An event now occurred which stirred France to its depths and 
turned all eyes toward Lafayette.^ That general brought himself 
effectually before the public by writing a threatening letter to the 
assembly, dated June 16, 1792, from his camp at Maubeuge. 
The letter has been called " the manifesto of the constitutional 
party as Roland's letter was of the Jacobins."^ It was a most 



^ Ihid., II, 295-300; Morris, Diary and Letters, I, 544, Morris to Jeffer- 
son, June 17, 1792. 

^^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 310; Lindet Correspondance, 
356; Chaumette, Memoires, 9. 

^ Chambonas was Lafayette's cousin and Lajard was one of his creatures. 
Revolutions de Paris, XII, 522. 

' Nouvelle correspondance politique, XII, i. 

^Ternaux, I, 128. 

221 



26 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

undiplomatic move and proved to be disastrous to the constitu- 
tional party. In this letter Lafayette attacked the Jacobin socie- 
ties, as the authors of all disorders, and advised their suppression. 
He represented them as an empire having its metropolis and affil- 
iations, as a distinct corporation in the midst of the French people 
of which it usurped the powers and subjugated the representa- 
tives. He denounced the ministry just fallen, especially Servan 
and Dumouriez, condemned the efforts then being made to over- 
throw the constitution and proclaimed his intention to enforce that 
instrument and so to carry out the supreme will of the people. 
Finally, he advised the assembly to suppress all foreign and in- 
ternal enemies, asserting that France was able to protect herself, 
if she would.* 

The letter was read in the assembly June i8 and was received 
with great applause. It was voted that it be printed and that 
copies be sent to the eighty-three departments. This entire appro- 
bation seemed to show that the assembly was Feuillant in its S3^m- 
pathies. The Left was greatly excited. Vergniaud made a vigor- 
ous speech in which he distinguished between petitions presented 
by simple citizens and those presented by the general of an army, 
asserting that the advice of a general to a legislative assembly 
amounted to dictation. Gaudet insisted that the letter could not 
have been written by Lafayette because it spoke of an event which 
occurred in Paris on June i6, and which could not have been 
known to Lafayette at Maubeuge on the same day.^ The letter, 
he asserted, must have been fabricated or signed in blank. He 
then moved that it be sent to the committee of twelve and the 
motion was carried unanimously although this vote was entirely 
contradictory to the former vote of the assembly transmitting the 
letter to the departments.^ 

This letter caused the greatest excitement in Paris^ spreading, 



* Moniteur, XII, 698; Histoire parlementaire, XV, 69-74; Roederer, 
Chronique de cinquante jours, 10; Chaumette, Memoires, 3, 8. 

^ This event was the dismissal of Dumouriez as minister of war. 

^Moniteur, XII, 692-93. 

'' Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 16 ; Memoires du comte de 
Paroy, 297; Journal d'une bourgeoise, 130, letter to her husband, June 

222 



The Uprising of June 20, i'j^2 27 

of course, from the Jacobin club as the center of the most intense 
feeling. The death struggle had begun between this society and 
Lafayette.® He was denounced in their meeting of June 18, as 
being in league with the enemies of the country, as playing the 
role of a " new General Monk," and the demand was made that 
he be called before the bar of the assembly to answer for his 
acts and be sent to the high court of Orleans.^ 

But the feeling against Lafayette grew still more intense when 
he addressed another letter to the king in which he surpassed the 
dictatorial character displayed in the letter to the assembly. He 
advised the king to persist in his veto. " Maintain, Sire, the 
authority which the national will has delegated to you," are his 
words.^° The newspapers accused him of treason and the assem- 
bly and clubs joined in the outcry.^^ A keen observer of his 
conduct declared that he must be either a rascal or an imbecile.^^ 

Neither did Lafayette pass for being loyal to the cause of the 
king.^^ Early in May, he sent an agent to Mercy at Brussels to 
ascertain the situation in governmental affairs and to learn the 
king's wishes in regard to the constitution. He indicated that he 
and Rochambeau would use all their efforts to carry out the 
king's desires, saying they alone possessed the means of establish- 
ing royal authority. But Mercy distrusted him and ascribed to 
him one of three motives: (i) embarrassment attendant on the 



19, 1792; Correspondance entre le comte de Mirabeau et le comte de La 
Marck, III, 311-19, Montmorin to La Marck, June 19, 1792. 

* Glagau, Die fransosische Legislative, 342-60, Pellenc to La Marck, 
Paris, June 29, 1792; Pellenc to La Marck, Paris, June 30, 1792; Pellenc 
to La Marck, Paris, July 13-15, 1792; Clapham, Causes of the War of 
1792, 212. 

^Revolutions de Paris, XII, 537; Aulard, La societe des Jacobins, IV, 
10-16. 

" See the letter in full in Histoire parlementaire, XV, 100, and in Revo- 
lutions de Paris, XII, 535, and in Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 
10. 

" Revolutions de Paris, XII, 535-37- 

^^ Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIV, 71 ; Condorect in Chroniques 
de Paris, No. 172, 682; Paroy, Memoires, 297. 

^* Glagau, Die fransosische Legislative, 341, Abbe Louis to Mercy, June 
26, 1792. 

223 



28 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

disorganization of his army and the exhaustion of his resources ; 
(2) the idea of escaping surveillance on the eve of a premedi- 
tated attack; or (3) a project of arousing distrust at the court 
of Berlin and of making dangerous use of responses which might 
be interpreted as overtures.^* This distrust existed also at the 
Austrian court. Kaunitz, writing to Mercy concerning Lafa- 
yette's propositions, said emphatically that such a man did not 
deserve the least confidence. He advised Mercy, however, to use 
a Fabian policy in dealing with Lafayette but not to accept a 
single proposition of his as a basis for reestablishing order in 
France.^^ Later correspondence between the two courts shows 
that this distrust was not dispelled. Fear was expressed that 
Lafayette would refuse to answer at the bar of the assembly to 
which he had been summoned and would find in the devotion of 
his army the means of resistance and so plunge the country into 
civil war.^*' His demand at the bar of the assembly for the pun- 
ishment of the crimes of June 20 was also interpreted as an ex- 
cuse for bringing on civil war.^^ 

Circumstantial evidence seems to point to an understanding 
between Lafayette and the directory of the department of Paris.^^ 
The evidence also indicates that the fall of the Girondist ministry, 
as well as that of Dumouriez, was the result of a plot between 
Lafayette and the Feuillants.^^ 

^"Ihid.', 318, Mercy to Kaunitz, Brussels, May 16, 1792. 

^' Vivenot, Deutsche Kaiserpolitik Oesterreichs, II, 58, Kaunitz to Mercy, 
May 26, 1792. 

^^ Glagau, Die franzosische Legislative, 339, Mercy to Kaunitz, June 27, 
1792. 

^'' Ibid., 342-52, Pellenc to La Marck, June 29, 1792; Pellenc to La Marck, 
June 30, 1792. 

"The letter was sent to the assembly on June 18, by a servant of the 
president of the directory. Moreover, the aristocratic newspapers had 
the contents of the letter on the morning of June 18. Who but the pres- 
ident of the directory could have given it to them? Revolutions de Paris, 
XII, 532-33 ; Histoire parlementaire, XV, 101-02 ; Aulard, La societe des 
Jacobins, IV, 15; Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 67. 

" Histoire parlementaire, XV, 74-78 ; Roederer relates an incident which 
indicates that Lafayette intrigued for the fall of the Girondist ministers. 
He had been sent to Lafayette's camp by Servan to assure that general 

224 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 29 

The official announcement of the king's veto was made on 
June 19. A letter from the minister of justice was read in the 
assembly stating that the king had vetoed, first the decree of May 
2,J, regarding the deportation of priests ; and second, that of June 
8, regarding the increase of the armed force by 20,000 federes 
to be assembled near Paris, July 14.^" 

This public announcement was the occasion for offensive action. 
Discontent was general.^^ The storm was gathering. A civic 
banquet held on the Champs Ely sees, June 19, and attended by 
many citizens was variously interpreted. Royalist newspapers re- 
ported it as an orgy attended by five hundred people where 
anarchists and deputies alike took part. They ascribed to it an 
evil purpose.^^ More moderate writers spoke of it as a very 
proper banquet attended by many good citizens, celebrating the 
anniversary of the decree which destroyed the titles of nobility. 
But they said it added excitement to that which was already 
aroused by the publication of the king's veto.^^ Everybody un- 
derstood that something was about to happen, yet feared to speak 
of what really threatened.^* A writer of the time said, " On the 
whole, sir, we stand on a vast volcano. We feel it tremble, we 
hear it roar, but how and when and where it will burst, and who 
may be destroyed by its eruptions, it is beyond the ken of mortal 
foresight to discover."^^ The people of the faubourgs believed 



of the support of the minister of war and of his desire to keep in touch 
with him. Lafayette was called out from the interview by a messenger 
who brought him the news of the dismissal of the ministers. On hearing 
this he uttered a cry of joy. Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 9. 

'^Moniteur, XII, 703. 

^ Chaumette, Memoires, 8-13 ; Lescure, Correspondance secrete, 601-03, 
lettre 20; Gorsas, Recit generate (Extrait du courrier des 8s departe- 
ments). 

^'Correspondance politique, June 21, 1792, LXIII, 2; Nouvelle corre- 
spondance politique, June 22, 1792, XII, 2. This account is published in 
pamphlet form under title of Le cri de douleur. 

^Courrier des 83 departements, June 22, 1792, IX. This account is 
also found in the pamphlet, Recit generale et circonstancie des evenemens 
du vingt juin; Le mercure universel, June 22, 1792. 

^* Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIV, 71. 

^ Morris, Diary and Letters, I, 545. 

225 



30 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

themselves surrounded by plots and were ready to take the 
offensive. There was a growing belief in the king's treachery 
and the Tuileries were no longer considered inviolable.^^ A plan 
was concerted for the morrow for which the Girondins were not 
without responsibility.^'^ 



V 

The Twentieth of June 

There have been various explanations of the uprising of the 
20th of June. One of these asserts that it was a deep laid con- 
spiracy on the part of the Girondist leaders to reinstate them- 
selves in power or to avenge themselves for their defeat.^ An- 
other asserts just as confidently that it was a popular demonstra- 
tion, an instantaneous response of the masses to the king's refusal 
to sanction the decrees and to his dismissal of the three ministers.^ 
Still a third explanation regards it as a reply to the letter of Lafa- 
yette, originating with the people or with the Jacobins.^ Probably 
all of these statements contain a part of the truth. It was a pop- 
ular demonstration and it did have leadership, but no plan of leaders, 
however skillful, could have succeeded in creating such general 
and intense feeling. The feeling must already have existed. It 

^ Paroy, Memoires, 297 ; Journal d'une bourgeoise, 124, June 16, 1792 ; 
Chronique du mois, June 19, 1792; Chaumette, Memoires, 12; Dreyfus in 
Les femmes de la revolution frangaise, 1789-1795, says the people saw 
that the intrigues of the Tuileries would lead to the power of the Feuil- 
lants, i. e., the constitutional royalists would ally with royalists of the 
court. 

^^ Masson, Petites histoires, serie I, 246-58; Clapham, Causes of the War 
of 1792; 212. 

^ Ternaux, I, 129-230; Louis Blanc, Histoire de la revolution, VIII, 53; 
Blanc-Gilli, Lettre d'un depute de I'assemblee nationale au departement des 
Bouchese-du-Rhone, Paris, June 21, 1792. 

^Aulard in Revolution frangaise, XXXV, 532; Lettre de Ph-Ch-Ai- 
Goupilleau, depute de la Vendee, Paris, June 20, 1792; Correspondance 
secrete, 601-02, Lettre 20; Journal d'une bourgeoise, 130-33, June 19, 1792. 

^Patriate frangais. No. 1046, 689, June 21, 1792; Clapham, Causes of 
the War of 1792, 212. 

226 



The Uprising of June 20, 1292 31 

pervaded all Paris and had grown out of the actual condition of 
affairs. The leaders took advantage of its existence and turned 
it to account. 

The greatest demonstration on this day came from the fau- 
bourgs and the reason for this is readily seen. The sections in 
the center of Paris were dominated by the royalist faction and 
had not the spirit for organized protest, but those of the fau- 
bourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marcel had conserved all their 
vigorous sense of justice and of their rights and it was there that 
the great questions of the interests of the country and the means 
of saving it were discussed.* 

It can not, however, be said that the 20th of June was solely 
the work of the sections even though some of them took part in it. 
Ever since the declaration of war in April, the sections, under 
the influence of the double danger from the enemy without and 
the court within had considered the question of organized resist- 
ance. Efforts were made to reestablish their state of permanence 
which had been suppressed by the law of May 21, i79"o. In May 
and June seven sections demanded from the legislative assembly 
the authorization to constitute themselves in a state of permanent 
surveillance.^ It was in this state of affairs that the king vetoed 
the decree against the priests and that for the formation of the 
camp. His action was freely discussed in the sections. The 
dismissal of the Girondist ministry intensified the excitement. A 
plan had already been formed to celebrate the anniversary of the 
oath of the tennis court and these circumstances gave the plan a 
revolutionary significance. The sections, Quinze-Vingts, Pop- 
incourt. Gobelins and others decided to go around to present 
petitions to the king and to the national assembly and at the same 
time to plant a tree of liberty upon the terrace of the Feuillants.® 



* Chaumette, Memoires, 12. 

" Mellie, Les sections de Paris pendant la revolution frangaise, 104-05. 
The names of these sections are : Theatre-Frangais, Croix Rouge, Fon- 
taine-de-Grenelle, Lombards, Luxembourg, Meauconseil, und Louvre. 

* Mellie, Les sections de Paris pendant la revolution frangaise, 104-05 ; 
Deliberations of the section Quinze-Vingts of June 19, in Journal des 
debats et decrets, No. 273, p. 359. 

227 



32 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

The rising was the outcome partly of the veto, the change of 
ministry and the consequent intrigues of the Girondins ; but it was 
primarily a plan that had for some time occupied the leaders of 
the faubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marcel, who intended to 
celebrate the anniversary of the oath of the tennis court by a 
great popular demonstration that should serve as a warning to 
the king. The plan was to present a petition to him asking for 
the sanction of the decrees against the priests and for the forma- 
tion of the campJ They wished to impress the king by the aspect 
of the people in arms and so frighten him into sanctioning the 
decrees and recalling the ministry. But there was no attempt on 
this day to overturn the throne. 

For, perhaps a month there had been a ferment in the faubourg 
Saint-Antoine. The citizens had presented a petition to the council 
of the commune asking permission to assemble in the church, 
Enfants-Trouvees, at the close of services to be instructed upon 
the subject of "their rights and their duties." The municipality 
referred this petition to the directory of the department and 
charged Petion with presenting it. In his letter to Roederer, June 
2, Petion recommended that the directory give the petition a favor- 
able and prompt consideration on the ground that this would be 
a means of teaching the citizens patriotism and a knowledge of 
the laws.^ By the middle of June the ferment had increased and 
for a week before the 20th we can see it not only in the faubourgs 
but in the assembly, in the clubs, Jacobin and Cordelier, and 
even in royal circles. The newspapers and all public gatherings 
reflected it.® 

The subject of the leadership of this day is much in question. 

' Clapham, Causes of the War of 1792, 212-13; Chaumette, Memoires, 
13; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 548; Carro, Santerre, 107. 

* Letter of Petion to Roederer, June 2, 1792, in Ternaux, I, 130. 

^Declaration de Lareynie; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 521; Nouvelle 
correspondance politique, XII, I; Annates patriotiques et litteraries de la 
France, LII, 669-748; Journal royaliste. No. 5, 1-2; Correspondance 
politique LXIII, 2; Aulard, La societe des Jacobins, III, 688-706, IV, 
1-21 ; Chaumette, Memoires, 13 ; Memoires d' Alexandre, Masson, Petites 
histoires, serie I, 246-58; Soltho Douglas, "Observations du 19 et 20 juin, 
1792," Archives Nationales, W/b 251. 

228 



The Uprising of June 20, i^gs 33 

Many assertions have been made regarding it for which no 
evidence has 'been produced. The Jacobins and the Girondins, 
collectively and individually, have been charged with being the 
instigators of the movement and with associating their party cal- 
culations with the popular excitement. The Jacobins Danton, 
Robespierre, Chabot and Lasource, the Girondins Brissot, Gaudet, 
Gensonne, Claviere, Roland and his wife, the municipal officers 
Petion and Manuel and the editor Gorsas are all charged by one 
writer or another with being the leaders who remained in the 
shadow, the brains that directed the movement.^** If these men 
were the real leaders, they remained in the background, for there 
is little or no evidence to place upon them responsibility for the 
uprising. It is only their well-known revolutionary sentiments 
and their power of leadership that has given rise to suspicion. 

The evidence seems to indicate that the leaders of the Jacobins 
and the Girondins had in mind two distinct ideas of the advan- 
tages which might be gained by the uprising. The Girondins hoped 
to effect through this excitement the recall of their fallen ministry, 
while the Jacobins did not wish the recall of the Girondist ministry. 

^^ Ternaux says (I, 131) that orders were given out by Danton and by 
other principal leaders who remained in the shadow; Louis Blanc, (VIII, 
SZ)y calls the Girondins, Roland, Claviere, Gensonne, Gaudet, Brissot and 
Madame Roland, the instigators; Clapham, (112), charges the day to the 
Jacobins; Robiquet, (483), calls Danton the great leader who gave orders 
to the men who met at the home of Santerre; Martin, (24-28), indis- 
criminately rails at Petion, Vergniaud, Robespierre, Chabot and the Gir- 
ondins especially Madame Roland, Brissot and Gaudet for responsibility 
in this uprising; Varenne, (19-20), calls Petion chief of the conspirators 
and the editor Gorsas an instigator. Masson says, Petites hlstoires, I, 
246-50, Petion was an accomplice of Alexandre and Santerre; Lareynie 
says Petion was at the home of Santerre about midnight June 19 in secret 
committee but this is hearsay evidence. Carro makes the same statement 
but does not give his authority. Documents show that Petion was in his 
office from about nine o'clock till about two in the morning, as we shall 
see later. An anonymous pamphlet of the time also accuses Petion of 
meeting with the leaders of June 20 and of meeting with Orleans at 
Rincy the morning of the 20th but the records show that he was in a 
meeting of the municipal corps all morning. Description de la fete civique. 
Royalist newspapers make similar statements, Journal royalist, No. 4) P- 3 » 
Nouvelle correspondance politique, XII, i, June 23, 1792. 

229 



34 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

They desired the overthrow of the monarchy but did not think the 
time ripe for such action. They planned to await the arrival of 
the Marseillais, when a thorough revolution could be accomplished. 

It has been stated that the leaders of the Girondist party, 
Roland, Claviere, Gensonne, Gaudet and Brissot met at the home 
of Madame Roland to weave a plot; that others less conspicuous 
took upon themselves the role of instigators, and that the watch- 
word was, "Recall the good ministers."^^ A few years later at 
the trial of the Girondins, Chabot testified that Brissot and his ad- 
herents, wishing to rule through their ministry, formed a project 
for intervention by the people of the faubourgs for the recall 
of the dismissed ministers but that while the people were disposed 
to take part in such a movement, the recall of the ministry was 
the last thing they wished.^^ 

The Jacobins, Robespierre and Chabot wanted a republic and 
feared that the recall of the Girondist ministry would only make 
permanent their constitutional chains. According to Chabot, 
Robespierre, convinced of the intrigue of the Girondins, charged 
him with going to the faubourg Saint-Antoine on the evening of 
the 19th to persuade the people to content themselves with a 
simple petition for the sanction of the decrees, and to await the 
arrival of the Marseillais and then direct their movements toward 
overturning the throne.^^ 

It is true that Chabot was in the faubourg Saint Antoine on the 



" " Notice historique sur les evenements du 10 aout, 1792, et des 20 
et 21 juin precedents," par Sargent-Marceau, Revue retrospective, 2. serie, 
III. 

^ Histoire parlementaire, XXX, 40, " Proces des Girondins." 
^ Ibid., 40-41, Testimony of Chabot, If Chabot's testimony is to be ac- 
cepted, Brissot on the morning of the 21st admitted that he was one of 
the agitators and that he believed the movement had produced the desired 
effect of returning Roland, Claviere and Servan to the ministry; that when 
he and his accomplices saw that they could not influence the court they 
proposed a union with the Jacobins promising to effect the overthrow of 
the throne, but that later he pronounced against the Jacobins ior demand- 
ing this measure. This, however, is the evidence of a man who was 
bitterly partisan against Brissot and who when he made the statement was 
on trial for his life and was trying to connect Brissot with his own crime. 

230 



The Uprising of June 20, i'j<)2 35 

evening of June 19, speaking in the church Enfants-Trouvees from 
about 9:30 to 12:30 o'clock, 'but there is no evidence that he tried 
to give the movement a revolutionary character.^* He made an 
effort to have a decree passed in the section Quinze-Vingts to the 
effect that they should present their petition to the king and to 
the assembly unarmed.^^ He asserts that he succeeded but that 
the emissaries of the faction induced the people to arm themselves 
after he left.^^ 

As to Robespierre, his plan was to reserve all action for a 
decisive blow. He spoke much at the Jacobins to this effect. On 
June 13 he said, speaking of saving the country, that " it would 
not be done by partial insurrections, which only weaken the pubhc 
cause."^'^ The same sentiment was expressed by Camille Des- 
moulins, who said in the Jacobin club on June 19, " Without doubt 
I regard insurrection as indispensable, but let us above all things 
guard against partial insurrections."^^ 

Danton, also, has been accused of causing this uprising, but 
there is no proof of this assertion.^^ While it is true that the 
debates in the Jacobin club were menacing in tone, expressing 
feelings out of which the 20th of June might have grown, and 
while it is also true that Danton, Robespierre, Camille Desmoulins 
and Lasource spoke vigorously — facts which may have given rise 
to statements that these men were the leaders — there is nothing 
in their speeches that can directly connect them with instigating 
the uprising.-^" Danton, on June 13, declared that he would 



^^ Ibid., 40-41; Nouvelle correspondance politique, XII, 2, June 22, 1792. 
This article is reprinted in a pamphlet of the time, Le cri de douleur; 
Journal royalist No. 4, June 22, 1792; Correspondance politique, LXIII, 2. 

" " Proces-verbal de la seance du 19 juin de la section des Quinze- 
Vingts " in Journal des debats et decrets. No. 273, p. 359 ; Histoire parle- 
mentaire, XXX, 40. 

^"Ibid., XXX, 40-41. 

" Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, III, 698. 

'' Ibid., IV, 20. 

"Ternaux, I, 313; Robiquet, Le personnel municipal de Paris, 482-83; 
Aulard, Etudes et legons, 4. serie, 192. 

"^Ibid., Societe des Jacobins, III, 688-706; IV, 1-21. 

231 



36 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

"engage to carry terror into a perverse court" but on the 14th 
in pronouncing a withering discourse upon this court he explained 
that the means he would use were twofold ; first, to levy a tax on 
the rich and second, to send Marie Antoinette back to Austria.^^ 
On June 18, he delivered another bitter discourse against Lafayette 
demanding that he be called to account before the bar of the 
assembly for the letter he had written to it.^^ But none of these 
addresses refer in any way to the uprising of June 20. It has beeri 
more justly stated that he kept himself apart and permitted the 
uprising and did not regret that Louis XVI was so forcibly 
warned by the people, but that he wished to avoid bloodshed. 
His dream was of a peaceful revolution.^^ 

The ostensible leaders of the uprising were of a different type. 
Chief among them were Santerre and Alexandre, commandants of 
the battalions Enfants-Trouvees and Saint Marcel, men of con- 
siderable standing and influence in the faubourgs. Of less promi- 
nence were the marquis Saint Huruge and the Pole Lazowsky, 
captain of cannoneers in the faubourg Saint Marcel. There were 
others who stirred the people up, such as Fournier, known as the 
"American," an elector of the department of Paris of 1791, 
Rotonde the Italian, Legendre the butcher from the faubourg 
Saint German and one Curiette Verrieres. Besides these, there 
were a small number of confederates of the faubourg Saint- 
Antoine, such as Rossignol, the future general, then a journeyman 
goldsmith, Nicolas, a sapper of the battalion Enfants-Trouvees, 
Brierre, a wine merchant, Conor, calling himself victor of the 
Bastille and others.^* 

Alexandre has been referred to as the man who played the 
major role on June 20 and who was almost master of Paris in 



^'Ibid., Ill, 699-703. 

^Ibid., IV, II. 

'^ Ibid., Etudes et legons, 4. serie, 192. 

^^ " Declaration de Lareynie." This declaration was received among 
others by the justice of the peace of the section Roi de Sicile, June 24, 
1792. It is not first-hand evidence. The author states that he learned 
these things through correspondence and information from the faubourgs 
during the week before June 20th. 

232 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/p2 37 

iyg2P While he was an important character on this day he did 
not play as important a role as did the wealthy brewer of the 
faubourg Saint Antoine, Antoine Joseph Santerre. This man was 
king in the faubourgs, rough in his manner but kindly of heart. 
By royalist writers he has been called ignorant, brutal, debauched 
and insolent.-^ A glimpse of his life will serve to put a different 
interpretation upon him. His father, also a brewer, and his 
mother died early, leaving a large family. Antoine Joseph was 
thrown upon his own resources at eighteen but previous to this 
time had been in college where he studied especially history, 
physics and chemistry. At twenty he bought a brewery. He 
married happily but lost his wife before the close of the year. 
He married again but domestic unhappiness drove him to spend 
his leisure hours among the people of the faubourgs. He had a 
reputation for kindness to his servants, generosity to the poor, 
and consideration for his employees and so became very popular 
in the faubourg. He took part in the storming of the Bastille 
and with his battalion followed Lafayette on the 5th and 6th of 
October. He often displayed great courage in the face of danger, 
several times facing a mob to save a man from hanging or a woman 
from violence or buildings from being burned. He was one of the 

^ Masson, Petites htstoires^ i. serie, 246-58. Alexandre's business had 
been that of a stock broker. He gave this up, entered the national guards, 
took some instructions and was elected captain of cannoneers of the 
Gobehns, then chief of battalion of the Gobelins, finally provisional chief 
of the sixth division of the national guard of Paris. Alexandre's own 
account of his career is found in an extract from his Memoires; the man- 
uscript of these Memoires is in the possession of M. Frederic Masson of 
Paris. In September, 1792, Alexandre was allowed an indemnity of 
12000 francs for valuable services rendered before and after the loth 
of August. The convention made him minister of war, June 22, 1792, 
for one day. His name was proposed by the committee of public safety 
but the idea of making a minister of war of a stockbroker was so 
inconsistent that the assembly reconsidered its vote next day. {Mon- 
iteur, XVI, 892.) Alexandre was named commissioner of war which 
office he held for eight years and then became a member of the tribunate 
under the consulate. Documents in support of this are found in Ter- 
naux I, 394. 

"" Varenne, Histoire particulicre, 2V. 

233 



38 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

guards at the Tuileries after the king's flight and it is said was 
recognized by the king and queen and conversed with them and 
even received overtures from the queen to desert the popular 
cause. He was compromised in the affair of the Champ de Mars 
as being an Orleanist and sought safety in hiding to avoid being 
arrested. He was generous of heart, giving freely of his money to 
the poor and distributing free beer to the people. He was daring 
in the execution of his plans but not cruel nor wicked. Idolized 
by the people he could lead them wherever he chose.^'^ 

About the middle of June the leaders of the faubourgs began 
to assemble nightly, sometimes meeting in the house of Santerre 
and sometimes in the hall of the committee of the section Quinze- 
Vingts. At these meetings plans were drawn up for the uprising. 
Topics were selected to be debated in popular gatherings at the 
Tuileries, at the Palais Royal, in the Place de Greve and at the 
Porte Saint-Antoine. Incendiary placards were prepared to be 
posted up in the faubourgs and petitions were formulated to be 
carried by deputations to the patriotic societies of Paris and the 
famous petition presented to the assembly on the 20th of June 
was framed.^^ This definite work seems to have been done on 
June i^P 

On June 16, a deputation of ten citizens representing the 
petitioners from the faubourgs and led by Lazowsky was sent to 

^ Carro, Santerre, 1-99. The statements found here are drawn from 
Carre's Life of Santerre. See critical bibliography for the value of 
this material. One of these statements, at least, is borne out by an extract 
from the register of the executive council, April 6, 1793, showing that 
Santerre obtained a discharge of a tax of 49,603 livres which he owed 
to the government for 1789 and 1790 for his manufacture of beer. The 
report of the minister of finance declared that this beer having been con- 
sumed chiefly for patriotic ends there was reason for remitting this tax. 
The documents are found in Ternaux, I, 389 ff. It is also shown by these 
documents that Santerre had asked favors of Necker and Delessart before 
June 20 and of Bonaparte after the i8th brumaire. He held the title of 
Marechal de camp and later, general of division under the revolutionary 
government. 

"' " Declaration de Lareynie," June 24, 1792. 

^^ Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 18. 

234 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 39 

the municipality at the Hotel de Ville to announce " to the council 
that the citizens of the faubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marcel 
had resolved to present, Wednesday, the 20th, to the national 
assembly and to the king, petitions relative to the circumstances 
and to plant a liberty tree upon the terrace of the Feuillants, in 
memory of the oath of the tennis court. They asked that the 
council authorize them to wear the uniforms and carry the arms 
that they used in 1789."^° 

The council of the commune on the motion of Borie refused 
to grant this request and passed the following decree the same 
day : " The council having deliberated . . . and considering that 
the law forbids all armed assemblies not a part of the legally 
required public defense, passes to the order of the day." The 
council ordered this decree sent to the directory of the department 
and to the department of police and that it should be communi- 
cated to the municipal government.^^ According to the law of 
June 27, 1790, the work of communicating this decree to the 
magistrates was the duty of the mayor.^^ 

According to Borie the delegates when they received this answer 
were defiant and stated haughtily that nothing could prevent them 

^Extract from the register of the council of the commune; {Compte 
rendu,) " Conduite tenue par M. le maire de Paris;" " Proces-verbal 
dresse par M. Borie." The names of the men who carried the request to 
the council of the commune are Lazowsky, captain of cannoneers of the 
battaHon Saint-Marcel, Duclos, Pavie, Lebon, Lachapelle, Lejeune, Vasson, 
citizens of the section Quinze-Vingts, Geney, Deliens and Bertrand, citizens 
of the section Gobelins. Lazowsky was a friend of the Duke of Liancourt. 
He had been factory inspector before the revolution. He was also an 
intimate friend and sometime travelling companion of Arthur Young. 
(Travels in France). He was once a colleague of Roland, later a friend 
and member of the Jacobins by whom according to Madame Roland 
(Memoires, II, 193), he was almost canonized when he died in March, 
1793, though his death was a result of debauchery. He was buried in the 
Place du Carrousel. Michaud, Biographie universelle, XXIII, 441. 

^^ See the decree in an extract from the register of the council of the 
commune, Compte rendu, 4; "Proces-verbal dresse par Borie." 

^^ " Rapport fait au conseil du departement par M. Garnier, Leveillard et 
Demantort," 240. 

235 



40 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

from carrying out their designs.^^ The fermentation continued 
and during the following days the popular movement grew to 
greater proportions. Alexandre said that after the 15th or i6th 
one could easily foresee the approaching movement. By the i8th 
and 19th people talked only of the coming event and the excite- 
ment extended even to the Tuileries and vicinity.^* 

In the face of such an uprising as now threatened, it would 
be expected that the mayor of Paris would adopt a vigorous 
policy to suppress any disorder. He not only failed to meet this 
expectation but the evidence seems to indicate that he carefully 
avoided knowing anything about the movement. It was diffi- 
cult for Petion to reconcile his personal feelings with his official 
duties, but he evidently felt that he must keep up an appearance 
of performing his duty so that if the movement failed he would 
not lose his office. He was known for his attachment to the 
principles of liberty.^^ That his sympathies were with the repub- 
lican doctrines, we divine from his attitude toward the faubourg 
Saint-Antoine when it asked permission on June 2 to form a club 
which should meet in the church Enfants-Trouvees at the close 
of services " for the purpose of being instructed in their rights 
and their duties."^*' 

He was evidently absent from^ the Hotel de Ville, June 16, 
when the deputation from the faubourgs presented their peti- 
tion and so did not receive the decree of the council until June 18. 
On that day two copies were addressed to him by the secretary 

^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Borie"; Ternaux, (I, 318) makes this 
statement on a declaration of J. J. Leroux, but the statement is not found 
in his declaration. 

^ Masson, Petites histoires, i. serie, 246-58 ; Extract from Alexandre's 
Memoires; " Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers " ; Journal d'une bour- 
geoise, 310, letter to her husband, June 19, 1792; "Rapport de police," 
Soltho Douglas, " Observations du 19 et 20 juin, 1792," Archives Nationales 
W/b 251 ; letter of Terrier to the directory, June 19, 1792 in Rapport du 
ministre de I'interieur, i. 

^Memoires d' Alexandre" in Masson, Petites histoires, 1. serie, 246-58; 
Journal d'une hourgeoise, 130, Letter to her husband, June 19, 1792. She 
says Petion was between Scylla and Charybdis. 

** Letter of Petion to Roederer, June 2, 1792, referred to above. 

236 



The Uprising of June 20, ij^s 41 

of the council together with a letter reminding the mayor of the 
provisions of the decree for its communication. A third copy 
was addressed by the secretary to the department of police.^^ 
Petion seems to have been absent from his office when this letter 
reached it on June 18. His chief secretary, because of the 
urgency of the case, sent an unsigned letter to Roederer enclosing 
a copy of the decree, adding that the same letter, officially signed, 
would be sent him tomorrow. ^^ Later, on the same day, Petion 
sent a letter to Roederer informing him of the proceedings of the 
commune on the i6th, enclosing a copy of the decree and asking 
him to communicate it to the directory. ^^ But he gave no orders 
for the suppression of the movement. 

Later, when the mayor was accused of failing in the discharge 
of his duties on this occasion, he justified his inaction by saying 
that this request of the i6th was one of individuals who desired 
to march without being assembled under the flag of the military 
force or without being directed by the officers recognized by law.*° 
Plainly the mayor of Paris was not disposed to make any effort 
to allay the fermentation. 

The directory, although it had no legal right to act directly in 
this case, was much concerned for the public peace. It spared 
no efforts to maintain the peace and by means of letters, decrees 
and conferences tried to force the mayor and the municipal 
officers to repress the uprising." After having received a com- 



*' See the letter from the secretary of the council of the commune to 
Petion, (Ternaux, I, 139), enclosing copies of the decree. 

^Letter from Petion's office to Roederer, June 18, 1792, in Revue retro- 
spective, 2 serie, I, 162-63. 

^'Letter of Petion to Roederer, June 18, 1792, in Proclamation du roi et 
recueil de pieces, No. i. 

*" " Conduite tenue par M. le Maire." 

" The administrators composing the directory of the department of 
Paris were La Rochefoucauld, president, Anson, vice president, Gamier 
(Germain), substitute for the procureur, Davous, Talleyrand, Brousse des 
Faucherets, Trion de Chaume, Demeunier, and Briois. Of this organiza- 
tion, Blondel was secretary and Roederer, prosecuting attorney. It was 
an essentially aristocratic body. The list of names of all the members of 
the department is found in Lacroix, Le departement de Paris et de la 
Seine pendant la revolution, 212. 

^Z7 



42 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

munication from Roederer, it wrote to the mayor and to the 
municipality, at noon on June 19, reminding them of their duty 
and asking them to meet with the directory between two and 
three o'clock.^^ j^ wrote another letter to Petion suggesting that 
he issue a proclamation stating the laws relative to pubhc peace, 
calling attention to the former decree of the municipality regard- 
ing armed defense and requested that he ask the citizens to main- 
tain order.*^ Between two and three o'clock the mayor and the 
police attended the meeting of the directory. The session was 
evidently a stormy one, for the situation was freely discussed.** 
At this meeting the directory, in the presence of Petion, passed 
a decree declaring that it had learned from several sources that 
notwithstanding the decree of the council of the commune, evil- 
minded persons still intended to form armed assemblies under 
pretext of presenting petitions ; that they thought that the public 
should be reminded of the law which forebade an assemblage of 
armed citizens and of the municipal law which authorized the 
sending of a deputation of twenty citizens to present petitions; 
that the people ought not to insult the council which had refused 
the request of the faubourgs on the i6th by allowing an armed 
gathering nor offend the majesty of the representatives of the 
people by presenting themselves before them armed. The direct- 
ory then decreed that the mayor, the municipality and the com- 
mandant should be warned without delay to take all possible 
measures to prevent armed assemblies that would violate law and 
use all the force at their disposal to prevent disturbance of the 
public peace, and for citizens, national guards and all composing 
the armed force to hold themselves ready to assist if necessary.*^ 
Pursuant to this decree, Petion immediately dispatched orders 
to the commandant and to the administrators of police to execute 
the decree.*® He instructed the commandant to keep the posts 

*^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 
^ This letter is found in Ternaux, I, 140, note 2. 
** " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 
*" Decree of the directory, June 19, 1792. 

*' Roederer, Chronique de cinquanfe jours, 19, says that the mayor 
wrote these letters at the desk of the directory; "Rapport fait au conseil 

238 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 43 

filled, to double the guards at the Tuileries and at the national 
assembly, to have at his disposal reserves of infantry and cavalry 
and to take every measure to maintain order.*'^ He also wrote to 
the commissioners of pohce instructing them to keep the peace.*® 
He then summoned the commandants of the two faubourgs to 
come to the mayoralty at nine o'clock in the evening.*^ It also 
appears that some time before the evening of the 19th he had 
written a letter to the president of the section Quinze-Vingts, 
asking that the citizens do not go armed to the assembly nor to 
the king.^° 

Meantime the minister of the interior, Terrier de Montciel,^^ 
had heard alarming reports concerning the tranquillity of Paris 
and wrote to the directory at 2 :30 o'clock asking to be kept in- 
formed of the situation so that he might at once render an account 
to the king.^2 The directory received this letter of inquiry while 
it was deliberating and responded at once with a copy of its de- 
cree and asked Terrier to communicate it to the national assem- 
bly.^' Ever since the letter of Lafayette to the assembly had 



du departement par MM. Garnier, Leveillard et Demantort," Revue ret- 
rospective, 2. serie, I, 241. 

*^ " Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers " ; " Rapport de Roederer," 
Histoire parlementaire, XV, 424. Ternaux states (I, 141, note) that he has 
found the minutes of this letter and that it adds at the end the mayor's 
authorization to make requisition for regular troops if they are needed 
by the commandant. 

** Letter of Petion to Dumont, commissioner of police, Section Mon- 
treuil, June 19, 1792; "Rapport fait au conseil du department par MM. 
Garnier, Leveillard et Demantort " ; " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

^° " Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux, I, 407 ; " Rapport fait au conseil de 
department par MM. Garnier, Leveillard et Demantort " ; " Conduite tenue 
par M. le maire." 

^'' Journal des debats et decrets, No. 273, p. 360. This gives, in the report 
of the proceedings of the assembly for June 25, a proces-verhal of the 
section Quinze-Vingts for June 19, evening session. 

" Terrier unlike Petion was out of sympathy with republican doctrines. 
He belonged to the party of Lameth and Duport. Glagau, 339, Mercy to 
Kaunitz, June 27, 1792. 

'^'Rapport du ministre de I'interieur, i, letter of Terrier to the direc- 
tory, June 19, 1792, 2 :30 o'clock. 

^^ Ibid., Letter of the directory to Terrier, June 19, 1792. 

239 



44 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

been made public, there had been a feeling of unrest and fear at 
the Tuileries which had grown with each new report and now 
bordered on terror. The king had made his will, had gone to con- 
fession and it was said that the members of the royal family had 
given gifts as last souvenirs to their personal friends. It was 
also reported that a week before, the king had said, " I know the 
dark projects they have against me; I shall be at Saint-Denis 
within a fortnight providing that they will allow my body to lie 
beside those of my ancestors."^* It was furthermore believed 
that the king was preparing to leave Paris. On June i8, Petion 
received a letter from Bayonne, without signature and without 
date, that informed him that the king was going to leave Paris 
at two o'clock in the morning. Petion summoned the command- 
ant to suspend all other business and come to him without delay 
as he had need of a conference with him on this matter.^^ This 
feeling at the Tuileries was an incentive to Terrier to keep in- 
formed upon the situation. He showed the greatest solicitude for 
the royal family from this moment on. 

The assembly held a session on this same evening, June 19, 
which was full of interest because of two occurrences, the read- 
ing of the petition of the Marseillais and of the decree of the 
directory. A deputation of citizens from Marseilles was intro- 
duced at the bar of the assembly and announced that the liberty 
of France was in danger and that the free men of the south were 
ready to march to its defense. They continued: 

" The day of the people's anger has arrived. The people they have 
tried to kill and chain dov^^n is weary of defending itself and now is ready 
to take the offensive; weary of baffling conspiracies . . . the generous lion, 



°*Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, IV, 9; Correspondance entre le comte 
de Mirabeau et le comte de La Marck, III, 318, Montmorin to La Marck, 
June 19, 1792;' "Rapport de police, Observations de 19 juin," Soltho 
Douglas, Archives Nationales, W/b 251; "Rapport de police," June 20, 
1792, Archives Nationales, 4387; Annales patriotiques. No. CLXXII, p. 
757; Journal royalist, No. S, p. 4; Lettre de Blanc-Gilli. depute de I'assem- 
blee nationale, June 21, 1792; Paroy, Memoires, 297; L'indicateur, No. 34, 
June 22, 1792. 

^^ Letter of Petion to Romainvilliers, June 18, 1792, Archives Nationales 
F^4474™. The letter from Bayonne was enclosed. 

240 



The Uprising of June 20, iyg2 45 

today enraged, is ready to spring from its repose upon the pack of its 
enemies. Representatives, the popular force is your force. You have it 
in hand, use it. Give no quarter since you can expect none. The French 
people ask for a decree authorizing them to march with a more imposing 
force than any heretofore. Command and we will march upon the cap- 
ital and to the frontiers. A struggle between despotism and liberty must 
be a struggle to the death. . . . Representatives, the people wish absolutely 
to finish a revolution which is its safety and its glory, which is the honor 
of the human mind ; it wishes to save itself and to save you. Ought you 
to prevent this sublime movement?" 

This shows the intensity of pubHc feeling on the eve of June 
20. The petition was received by some with enthusiasm and by 
others with cries of " incendiary and unconstitutional." One 
member thought it not astonishing that men born under burning 
skies should show an ardent imagination and an energetic patriot- 
ism. After a lively debate and amidst applause the printing was 
voted and it was decreed that a copy should be sent to each of 
the eighty-three departments.^® 

The excitement had scarcely died down when the president 
announced that the minister of the interior had addressed a decree 
of the directory of the department of Paris to the assembly. The 
reading was called for. Immediately Saladin cried, " We have no 
time to lose in reading it." But Becquet insisted upon the read- 
ing, saying that the assembly should become acquainted with the 
decrees passed by the administrative body when it is a question 
of public order ; that every one knew that the people were being 
stirred up at this time, and that it was understood by all that to- 
morrow would, be a stormy day ; that the reading should be heard 
with a view to taking action on the subject. Vergniaud called 
forth applause and laughter by some sarcastic remarks about 
Becquet being always so constitutional yet wishing to overturn the 
laws so that the national assembly might occupy itself with police 
measures. He opposed the reading of the decree of the depart- 
ment on the ground that if the assembly listened to the reading 
and took no action it would give a species of sanction to it and 
free the officers from their responsibility. Rouyer reminded the 

^^ Moniteur, XII, 710; Journal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 257; 
Revolutions de Paris, XII, 546. 

241 



46 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

assembly that it had asked the mayor to report the situation of 
the city every day and that it could scarcely refuse to hear the 
decree of the department that shared its solicitude. The reading 
was received in silence." Did this silence signify " tacit approba- 
tion, calculated indifference or disguised blame ? " A contempo- 
rary ventures the assertion that there was an understanding be- 
tween the leaders of the movement and the principal men in the 
assembly to the effect that the assembly would give its approval 
by its silence.^^ 

Meantime the excitement in the faubourgs had reached its 
highest pitch. In the faubourg Saint- Antoine, the section Quinze- 
Vingts held a meeting in the church, Enfants-Trouvees, begin- 
ning about eight o'clock and lasting until after one. It was at- 
tended by over a thousand citizens. A decree was passed pro- 
viding for the section to join with other sections in presenting a 
petition to the king and to the assembly to invite the commission- 
ers of the section, the commissioners of police and the justice of 
the peace to go with them. The petition to the assembly was read 
and adopted. A deputation from the committee of the section 
Popincourt presented itself asking that the section might join the 
Quinze-Vingts in presenting the petition to the assembly. This 
was joyfully received. The address to the king was then read 
and adopted with slight change. 

Chabot then spoke to the meeting informing them of the ad- 
dress of the Marseillais which had been read in the legislative 
assembly that evening. He also urged the citizens to go to the 
assembly and to the king unarmed and to conduct themselves 
peacefully and with moderation on the morrow and so to give 
the lie to the semi-prophecy of Lafayette on the subject of pre- 
tended regicides. But when the citizens pronounced strongly in 
favor of going to the assembly armed, the president of the sec- 
tion stated that Petion in a letter to him had requested that they 
do not present themselves armed either to the king or to the 



^ 



' Moniteur, XII, 710-11; Journal des debats et decrets. No. 267, p. 259. 
' Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 23. 

242 



The Uprising of June 20, lygs 47 

assembly.^^ It is also said that Chabot closed his address with, 
" My children, the national assembly awaits you tomorrow, with- 
out fail, with open arms."^^ 

This meeting was also attended by Alexandre, commandant of 
the battalion Saint-Marcel. It was here according to his own 
statement that he received his summons from Petion and the 
administrators of police to meet with them at the mayoralty at 
nine o'clock. He told the assembly of his summons and asked 
them not to dismiss their meeting until his return. He came 
back, he claimed, at one o'clock and gave an account of what had 
passed at the mayoralty. He also learned that in his absence 
the section had decided to march on the morrow and he was 
given a letter by the president of the section asking him to go to 
the meeting place on the Boulevard de I'Hopital at eight o'clock 
in the morning. During the day he had received a letter from 
the president of the section of the Gobelins asking him to join the 
citizens on the march, because his presence would help to maintain 
order in so great a crowd of people.*'^ We have no record of 
Santerre's attendance at this meeting, though he must have been 
there, being the first citizen of the faubourg. There is very little 
evidence of Santerre's activities in the preparations for this up- 
rising, but there is no doubt whatever of his leadership on the 
day of the uprising. According to the testimony of three other 
commandants he had sent invitations by letter or by deputation to 
them, asking them to march with the battalion Enfants-Trouvees 
on the 20th and had invited clubs in their district, asking their 
cooperation. Newspapers and police reports also show him the 
prime mover.^^ 

Other sections besides the Quinze-Vingts sat all night, among 



^* " Proces-verbal de la seance du 19 juin de la section des Quinze- 
Vingts," in Journal des dehats et decrets. No. 273, p. 3S9-6o. 

"" " Declaration de Thurot, volontaire grenadier de bataillon du petit 
Saint- Antoine, June 24, 1792;" Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 
19. Thurot says he learned this from a man who had attended the 
meeting. Roederer does not state his authority. 

" " Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux, I, 407. 

"" " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bataillon du Val-de-Grace " ; 
" Section de Montreuil, Proces-verbal de la protestation de MM. Bonneau 

243 



48 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

them Popincourt and the GobeHns. These heard addresses, passed 
decrees and exchanged fraternal deputations with each other. They 
also sent letters to the commandants urging them to march with 
the people."^ Plainly, there was activity and communication all 
night long among leaders, officers, clubs and sections in the fau- 
bourgs. 

Of Petion's whereabouts or activities from the close of the 
meeting of the directory till nine o'clock that evening we have no 
record. We have seen that he called the chiefs of the faubourgs 
to him at nine o'clock in the evening.^* At this meeting there 
were four administrators of police present, Panis, Sergent, Vig- 
ner and Perron, and four or more commandants of battalions of 
the faubourgs, Santerre of Enfants-Trouvees, Alexandre of 
Saint-Marcel, Saint-Prix of Val-de-Grace, Savin, second in com- 
mand of Saint-Marguerite, and possibly Bonneau, chief of the 
same battalion. ^^ Toward ten o'clock the commandants arrived, 
Alexandre appearing first and Saint-Prix last.*^^ 



et Savin " ; " Rapport fait au conseil du departement par MM. Garnier, 
Leveillard et Demantort." 

^ " Proces-verbal de la seance du 19 juin de la section des Quinze- 
Vingts " in Journal des debats et decrets, No. 273, p. 359-60; "Rapport 
d' Alexandre," Ternaux, I, 407 ; " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bat- 
aillon du Val-de-Grace," No. 4, des Pieces justificatives. 

^ The letter of convocation sent to Saint-Prix is found in Proclamation 
du roi et recueil de pieces, XXXV, No. i of Pieces justificatives added to 
Saint-Prix's report. 

^° " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bataillon du Val-de-Grace " ; 
" Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux I, 407 ; " Rapport et conclusion de le 
procureur-general-syndic du departement " in Proclamation du roi et 
recueil de pieces, 15 ; " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." Bonneau is not 
mentioned by name as attending this meeting. Petion says he summoned 
the commandants and mentions Santerre and Alexandre and the " other 
commandants." Roederer speaks as if all were present. Alexandre names 
Santerre and " other commandants " whom he did not know. Saint- 
Prix names Alexandre, Santerre and Savin. Since Bonneau was chief 
and Savin second in command we infer that Bonneau was one of the 
" other commandants." 

'^^ Alexandre says he saw Santerre and others arrive. Saint-Prix says 
he found, when he arrived, Santerre, Alexandre and Savin. 

244 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 49 

Petion and the administrators of police asked them to state the 
disposition of the citizens in their sections and in their battaHons. 
For Santerre's answer we have only Petion's report, but Alex- 
andre and Saint-Prix have left their own accounts. Each would 
have us believe that he answered first and that he suggested 
legalizing the '"movement. Santerre assured them "that nothing 
in the world could prevent the national guards and the citizens 
from marching, that all remonstrance was absolutely useless, that 
the inhabitants of the vicinity of Paris had joined them, that 
they had made a fete day of it and that they would answer to any 
argument that might be made, 'that they ought to receive the 
same treatment as others whom the assembly had received.' "^'^ 
Alexandre affirmed that the same sentiment existed in his fau- 
bourg and declared that it would be dangerous to use force to pre- 
vent what was firmly resolved upon. He said he had not noticed 
any disposition on the part of the people to insult either individ- 
uals or the constituted authorities and that a wise and simple 
course of action would be not to try to prevent the project, but to 
direct it, to legalize it in some way and then he would answer 
for it. He said in reply to the mayor's reference to the depart- 
mental decree that it was a very good measure in itself but came 
too late. When asked what his personal idea was, he answered 
without hesitation that if the citizens did not change their minds 
he had resolved to march with them. He reasoned that if he 
did not go, he would irritate his fellow citizens and lose their 
confidence and still not prevent the march. He would thus 
lose the personal advantage of protection for his person and 
his home and friends and thereby gain no advantage for pub- 
lic affairs. On the contrary, if he marched with them he 
would keep their confidence and prevent them " from committing 
any excesses and would moderate their enthusiasm and their im- 
patience, if they should be provoked or insulted, as there was 
reason, from reports, to believe they would be.""^ Other com- 
mandants did not answer in as positive a manner because they had 



^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire " 

*^ " Rapport d' Alexandre," in Ternaux, I, 407. 

245 



50 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

not such positive knowledge but all said that there was much fer- 
mentation.^^ Saint-Prix told the mayor that six weeks before, 
all was peaceable but that since then a club had been formed at 
the Porte Saint-Marcel, which had excited the people and in- 
duced them to carry a petition under arms to the national assem- 
bly and to the king and that this club had been invited by a letter 
from Santerre to join his battalion. Santerre admitted the cor- 
respondence, but denied that he had taken the initiative. Saint- 
Prix then advised the mayor to follow what he considered a 
policy of prudence. He said that since he could not prevent the 
procession, he had better legalize it. He advised him to go with 
the municipality to the place of assembling and read the decree of 
the department and state to the people in a proclamation that a 
petition presented under arms is illegal and request them to lay 
down their arms before entering the assembly and the king's 
palace. He suggested that Petion precede the petitioners accom- 
panied by officers of the municipality and that he order the com- 
mandant to furnish a number of volunteers from the battalions 
to protect the march of the petitioners and so give it a legal 
character.'^" 

This suggestion struck Petion as a means of escape from his 
dilemma, for he and his colleagues feared lest they should be re- 
duced to the necessity of using force against a great multitude of 
citizens. They withdrew from the conference into an adjoining 
apartment and consulted together in regard to some means of in- 
fluencing the department to change its decree."^^ At about mid- 
night Vigner was sent to Roederer with a letter signed by Petion 
and the four administrators of police stating the situation in the 
faubourgs as they had learned it from the commandants and 
proposing that the directory adopt some means that would be at 
the same time prudent and legal. They suggested that the armed 
citizens be grouped around the national guard under the authority 



" Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

' " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bataillon du Val-de-Grace." 
• " Rapport d' Alexandre," " Conduke tenue par M. le maire." 

246 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 51 

of its chiefs and that the magistrates authorize the commandants 
of the battahons to march with themJ^ 

Petion then returned to the leaders of the faubourgs and dis- 
missed them saying he would inform them of the department's 
answer. He asked them to write to their commandant and request 
him to give them such instructions as he thought suitable. It 
was now one o'clock in the morning of the 20th.'^^ Vigner on 
his return at one-thirty reported that Roederer approved Petion's 
suggestion and would assemble the directory to act upon it. 
Petion, feeling sure that that body could not but approve his sug- 
gestion, wrote to several of the officers to come to the mayoralty 
at seven o'clock in the morning to bring him news. He then re- 
tired.'^* Meantime Roederer wrote Petion requesting that he send 
an administrator of police with a letter to the directory. '^^ Neither 
Petion nor Roederer mention this letter in their reports and we 
do not know Roederer's object in sending for the administrator 
of police. 

In answer to Roederer's call the directory assembled at four 
o'clock in the morning."*^ After a lively discussion it was unan- 
imously recognized that they could not receive in the ranks of 
the national guard men almost wholly unknown, without recog- 
nition, already in open rebellion, armed with all sorts of weapons, 
who might sow the seeds of disorder in the military force and 



" The mayor and administrators of police, Petion, Sergent, Panis, 
Vigner and Perron to the Directory, June 20, 1792 at midnight. 

" " Rapport d' Alexandre " ; " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le 
bataillon du Val-de-Grace," Saint-Prix. 

" " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

^* We have not this letter and neither Petion nor Roederer mention it 
in their accounts, but Petion's letter to Roederer at five o'clock says he is 
sending an administrator of police to the directory " in accordance with 
the request of your letter " and in his letter to Sergent at the same hour 
he says, " go immediately to the directory of the department at the request 
of the enclosed letter." Petion to Roederer, June 20, 1792, five o'clock 
a. m. Petion to Sergent, June 20, 1792, five o'clock a. m. Archives 
Nationales, F'4774^". 

'^Roedeier, Chronique de cinquante jours, 20. 

247 



52 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

in case of sedition make it impossible to act." They replied 
to Petion with a letter at five o'clock saying, " We can not, under 
any circumstances, compromise the law which we have sworn to 
execute; it lays down our duty imperatively. We must persist 
in our decree of yesterday." Petion, wakened perhaps by Roed- 
erer's messenger, and not having received the reply from the di- 
rectory, sent a second letter by Sergent dated at five o'clock. This 
was a reply to Roederer's call for an administrator of police. It 
stated that "the measure indicated is the only practicable one 
especially in circumstances where the citizens cannot be notified 
and are already assembled.'"^^ In addition to the letter Sergent 
made a strong plea to the directory, still in session, in favor of 
legalizing, saying that the citizens had taken action irrevocably 
and that it would be impossible to prevent their movement. They 
answered him that they would give a general alarm and Sergent 
reminded them that for such a course written orders were neces- 
sary.'^^ But they persisted in their decree and Roederer answered 
Petion's letter by a postscript written on the decree of the direct- 
ory stating that the decision could not be changed.^" 

The directory then wrote to the commandant at five-thirty 
o'clock renewing instructions to him to discharge his duty in con- 
formity with the decree of the night before, even to calling the 
troops under arms, if the danger were pressing.®^ They also 
wrote to the minister of the interior at six o'clock to tell him of 
the proposition of the municipality and of the directory's peremp- 
tory refusal, enclosing copies of the correspondence, and stating 



" Decree of the directory of July 6, 1792, which suspended Petion from 
office. 

'^ Petion to Roederer, five o'clock a. m., June 20, 1792. Petion in his 
report omits mention of this second letter which is mentioned by both 
Roederer and Sergent. 

™ " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." According to the law of Nov. 
20, 1791, the mayor alone had the right to give orders in such cases. 
" Rapport fait au conseil du departement par MM. Garnier, Levillard et 
Demantort," 249. 

^ Directory to the mayor and municipal officers, June 20, 1792, five 
o'clock a. m. ; Roederer, Chronique de cinqiiante jours, 20. 

" Directory to the commandant, June 20, 1792, five-thirty a. m. 

248 



The Uprising of June 20, ifQ2 53 

their orders to the commandant. They wrote him again at seven 
o'clock saying the faubourgs would present a petition but would 
go unarmed.®^ Thus, we see, the directory, in contrast with the 
municipality, showed great interest in suppressing the movement. 
Roederer and the greater part of the members spent the nigh^ 
in the hall and held a full session at four o'clock, in the morning. 
As we have seen they answered dispatches of the municipality 
and gave orders to the commandant of the national guards. They 
also sent out officers to learn the state of Paris and decided to go 
to the assembly as soon as it should meet in the morning to say 
to that body that the custom which it had established of receiving 
armed deputations in its midst was responsible for this situation, 
was the obstacle to the success of the remonstrances against these 
petitioners.^^ The refusal of the directory destroyed all Petion's 
plans. He says he was overwhelmed with the thought of the 
abyss into which this act might plunge his fellow citizens. Nev- 
ertheless he executed the ideas of the directory. He wrote to 
the four chiefs of the battalions, Santerre, Alexandre, Saint-Prix 
and Bonneau, saying, " We inform you again that you can not 
assemble in arms. See in this connection the letter that the 
directory has sent us. After this letter we understand too well 
your patriotism not to expect that you will conform, and instruct 
your fellow citizens."^* These letters were received by Alexan- 
dre at seven o'clock and by Saint-Prix at seven-thirty. Their 
answers expressed a willingness to execute the order but Alex- 
andre said he could not answer for anvthing.^^ After writing 



*^ Directory to Terrier, June 20, 1792, six o'clock a. m. ; Directory to 
Terrier, June 20, 1792, seven o'clock a. m. in Rapport du ministre de 
I'interieur. 

*' Roederer, Chronique de cinquanie jours, 23. 

" " Conduite tenue par M. le maire " ; " Rapport de qui s'est passe dans 
le bataillon du Val-de-Grace " in "Pieces justificatives," No. Ill, " Proces- 
verbal de la protestation de MM. Bonneau et Savin " in same, No. IX ; 
The only direct statement that Santerre received this letter is made by 
these other men; "Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux, I, 407; Longchamp to 
Petion, June 20, 1792, in Archives Nationales F'4774"'. 

^* Alexandre to Petion, June 20, 1792, Archives Nationales F'4774''°. The 
original of this letter is signed Renaud, Com. of Saint-Marcel. I have not 

249 



54 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

these letters Petion at once convoked the municipahty for the 
morning.^'' While waiting for the members to assemble and 
realizing the gravity of the situation he sent some administrators 
of police, Sargent and Panis to the faubourg Saint-Antoine and 
Perron and Vigner to the faubourg Saint-Marcel. This was be- 
tween seven and eight o'clock." At about eight-thirty he sent 
three municipal officers to the faubourg Saint-Marcel where there 
seemed to be the greatest fermentation. He charged them to 
make every effort to prevent the gathering of armed men or to 
disperse them if they were already gathered, and to prevent the 
union of others with them.^^ 

The commandants of the battalions of the faubourgs now 
found themselves with conflicting instructions. They were sub- 
ject to extra requisitions from their sections as well as to orders 
from the commandant of the national guards. As noted above, 
the sections that had remained sitting all night asked their com- 
mandants to march with them. We saw that Alexandre had been 
asked by the Gobelins and the Quinze-Vingts to march with them. 
The section of the Gobelins by a decree asked Saint-Prix to march 
at their head and help them in the ceremony of planting the liberty 
tree on the terrace of the Feuillants. He answered that he could 
not lead his battalion without a legal order, but as a citizen he 
would go to the section unarmed. In addition to these invitations 
three commandants, Santerre, Alexandre, and Saint-Prix, re- 
ceived during the night a written order through the acting chief 
of the second legion, to which their battalions belonged, to hold 
themselves in readiness to march at the first order. This came 
by order of the general commandant.^^ This commandant of the 

been able to find why it is so signed. It is plainly Alexandre's answer 
to Petion for he was commandant of Saint-Marcel. He adds a P. S., say- 
ing " Perron is with me and we are going to the gathering to disperse 
them." Perron in his " Proces-verbal " confirms Alexandre's P. S. 

•* " Conduite tenue par M. le maire," 8. 

" " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Per- 
ron." As we shall see later he did not convoke all the members. 

*' " Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet, Guiard et Thomas." 

^^ " Rapport d'Alexandre," Ternaux I, 407 ; " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe 
dans le bataillon du Val-de-Grace " in "Pieces justificatives," Nos. II and 

250 



The Uprising of Jtme 20, i'jg2 55 

national guards, who for the month of June was Romainvilliers, 
was as embarrassed as his subordinates. After Petion had dis- 
missed the commandants of the faubourgs at one o'clock at 
night he requested Alexandre to write to the general commandant 
and inform him of what was occurring in the sections and ask 
for such instructions as the chief thought suitable. Alexandre 
dispatched this letter to Romainvilliers by a soldier at four o'clock 
in the morning. At six o'clock, he received the response which 
he says was given only after a half-hour's complaint about the 
difficulty of his position and the hard lot of being wakened at five 
o'clock when one has retired as late as ten, all good and true prin- 
ciples, Alexandre remarked, but having no application to the 
circumstances. ''° The commandant's response referred to the 
law which forbade marching without a written order,^^ and yet 
as we saw before, Santerre, Alexandre and Saint-Prix had all 
received instructions at one o'clock this night by his orders to 
hold themselves ready to march at the first call. Many other 
officers also had this order. At eight o'clock in the morning the 
commandant went to the Hotel de Ville where he had been sum- 
moned by the mayor to await precise orders from the municipal 
corps, Petion having told him the day before that the case was 
too serious for him to act without the cooperation of the 
municipality.®^ 

The faubourgs, Saint-Marcel and Saint-Antoine, had been 
assembled since five o'clock in the morning.''^ At the faubourg 

IV, "Addition au rapport que le commandant," No. XXXI, in same; 
" Rapport de Legard." 

^ " Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux I, 407. In this connection Alexan- 
dre quotes from Scarron, 

" Cette response est bonne et belle, 
Mais en enfer de quoi sert-elle?" 

" Alexandre to Petion, June 20, 1792. This letter tells Petion that Alex- 
andre has written to the commandant as he was instructed to do and gives 
the substance of the commandant's answer. Romainvilliers omits all men- 
tion of this information and order from Petion in his report; "Rapport 
que fait M. de Romainvilliers " and " Addition au rapport." 

^^ " Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers" and "Addition au rapport"; 
" Declaration de Desmousseaux." 

251 



56 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Saint-Antoine the decree of the directory had been posted during 
the night and crowds of people armed and unarmed were angrily 
commenting upon it. Sergent and Panis, the administrators of 
police sent out by Petion, reached this faubourg at about eight 
o'clock. They were soon recognized and surrounded. They 
urged the people to lay down their arms, showing them that it 
was illegal to present a petition in arms. The people assured them 
that they had no intention of abandoning their arms and that 
they did not intend to attack the assembly nor the king. They 
said they had two objects, one to form a procession for the twenty 
legal petitioners who wished to present a petition to the assembly 
and to the king, the other to celebrate the anniversary "of the oath 
of the tennis court by planting a maypole in military fashion. 
Besides they said they feared they would be fired upon at the 
Tuileries. The committee of the section Quinze-Vingts in this 
faubourg was in session surrounded by a great crowd of citizens 
armed and unarmed and with or without uniforms. Here the 
battalion Enfants-Trouvees was assembled with officers. San- 
terre was the central figure here and the mayor's letter stating the 
intention of the directory was the subject of discussion. Panis 
and Sergent continued their efforts to induce the people to 
respect the law, but in vain. Santerre, after inviting the adminis- 
trators of police to go with them, referred the question to the 
people and they shouted that other armed deputations and 
battalions had been received by the assembly and that the 
directory had not opposed them, that the law was the same for 
all, and that they also would be received. After more vain 
efforts to execute the law, the officers withdrew and on going 
into the street saw a part of an armed battalion and a street full 
of citizens whose spirits were dominated with joy. The maypole, 
loaded on a wagon, was in their midst. Commissioners of the 
section and commissioners of police came to join the citizens and 
a banner inscribed, " In commemoration of the oath of the tennis 
court," was carried aloft. Sergent and Paris then set out toward 
the Place de la Bastille where they saw armed citizens continually 

°' " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

252 



The Uprising of June 20, iyg2 57 

coming from various directions and applauded by the citizens. 
The administrators of police then entered a cafe and had break- 
fast.»* 

In the same faubourg the committee of the neighboring section 
Montreuil was in session this morning concerting with the police 
in an attempt to maintain order. A deputation from the section 
Quinze-Vingts composed of an officer, some soldiers, and some 
citizens, came in the name of Santerre to invite Bonneau and 
Savin, commandant's of the battalion Sainte-Marguerite to march 
with their battalion, following that of the Enfants-Trouvees. 
Bonneau answered them with Petion's letter which stated the 
decree of the directory and which appealed to the patriotism of 
the chiefs as a guarantee that the law would not be violated. The 
deputation answered that the battalion Enfants-Trouvees had 
received the same order but represented that it had been revoked. 
Bonneau did not give credence to this report, but when a great 
number of citizens and of national guards manifested a desire 
to march with their friends of the Quinze-Vingts, he yielded be- 
cause he wished to avoid the evils which would follow a deter- 
mined resistance. However, he and Savin, his second in com- 
mand, entered a formal protest to the committee to the effect that 
they had not violated explicit orders, but had acted by constraint.^^ 

In the faubourg Saint-Marcel even more violent scenes were 
taking place at the same hour and in more than one part of the 
faubourg. According to instructions received during the night 
from the chief of their legion and the letter of Petion received 
at seven thirty, Saint-Prix and his second in command, Leclerc, 
arrived early at the headquarters of their battalion, Val-de- 
Grace. They found it surrounded by a crowd of armed men who 
wished to force the volunteers to go with them. The command- 
ants recalled the law and showed the crowd the orders which they 
had received but protestations, efforts and entreaties were useless. 



°* " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." These men have been criticized 
by some writers for stopping to eat breakfast. (Ternaux I, 155-56.) But 
we have seen them on duty all night long so can understand their need. 

"^ " Section de Montreuil, Proces-verbal de la protestation de MM. Bon- 
neau et Savin." 

253 



58 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

They were insulted. The crowd tried to take their cannon from 
them. The commandants asked to put armed men in front of 
the cannon to protect it, but all was useless. The people were 
impatient because the hour for joining the faubourg Saint- 
Antoine was passing. They asked for a drummer but before 
Saint-Prix could give him orders his own volunteers of the 
battalion urged the crowd to possess itself of their cannon and, 
the cannoneers abandoning their pieces, the people did so. Seeing 
themselves defeated by this act of insubordination on the part of 
the cannoners, Leclerc and Saint-Prix rushed in front of the 
crowd, orders in one hand'and sword in the other. But realizing 
that only one adjutant supported them, they recalled the can- 
noneers to their pieces and yielded to the demands of the crowd. 
But on the way the two commandants called upon the spectators 
to witness that they were " forced to march by violence and 
insubordination."^^ 

In another part of the faubourg the committee of the section of 
the Gobelins was assembled in the basement of the Marche-aux- 
Chevaux. Perron who had been sent out by Petion at seven 
o'clock to engage the citizens to give up their project reached the 
faubourg soon after. He went to Alexandre, commandant of 
the battalion Saint-Marcel, who accompanied him to the com- 
mittee of the section. Perron stated his mission and in company 
with Alexandre, the president of the committee and a commis- 
sioner of police went to the meeting-place on the boulevard 
Salpetriere. Here they found a part of the battalion Saint- 
Marcel with arms and cannon and a large assemblage of men and 
women with all kinds of arms. After beating a drum to get 
attention, Alexandre, surrounded by the citizens, stated the object 
of their mission and then read the letter of the chief of the legion, 
the letter of the commandant, the letter of the directory and the 



^ " Rapport de ce que s'est passe dans le bataillon du Val-de-Grace," 
par Saint-Prix; Longchamp, Capt 4" Co., 10" Bat, 2d Legion, to Petion, 
June 20, 1792, in Archives Nationales, ¥''4774'°; Weber, Memoires, II, 
181, refers to a letter which he says was written by an eye witness and a 
member of the former States General, which bears out this statement. 
Weber does not give the author's name. 

254 



The Uprising of June 20, 1^0)2 59 

mayor's official message and asked them to listen to the adminis- 
trator of police. Perron urged the people to obey the laws and 
tried to induce them to lay down their arms and take the cannon 
back to the guardhouse, but their murmurs became violent. The 
people feare'd that their march would be stopped at the military 
posts on the way and that they would be repelled by force from 
the interior of the chateau. Consequently Perron could not 
shake their resolution to carry out their idea. The people, how- 
ever, did not appear hostile, but assured him that they had but 
two objects, the first to pay their respects to the assembly and to 
the king, the second to renew the oath of the tennis court and to 
convince him of their good intentions they invited him to march 
at their head. One of the volunteers said openly to Alexandre, 
" Sir, you will be forced to march." Seeing that all their efforts 
were unavailing, Alexandre asked Perron to report what had 
happened here for the justification of both of them and Perron 
returned to the municipality.^'^ Thorillon, a member of the 
national assembly and a justice of the peace in the faubourg 
Saint-Marcel, on hearing of the gathering went to the command- 
ant and to the commissioner of police and finally to the committee 
of the section. He learned of the people's determination to go in 
spite of the remonstrance of the administrator of police who 
reminded them of the law and of the decree of the directory. 
While the commandant of the battalion was gone to join the 
other officers the crowd possessed itself of cannon with a view 
to beginning their march. The committee of the section, despair- 
ing because of this disobedience, charged Thorillon with making 
a report of the situation to the assembly and asking it to execute 
the law.^^ 

At the time of departure the three municipal officers who had 
been sent out by Petion at eight-thirty arrived. They had made 
their way through lines of curious spectators who were watching 
for the procession. The officers met the procession, preceded by the 
two cannon, opposite the hospital Saltpetriere. Soon they were 



*" " Rapport d' Alexandre " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Perron." 
"^Journal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 264; Journal de I'assemblee 
nationale, XXI, 301. 

255 



60 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

surrounded by the crowd of people of all ages, both sexes, armed 
and unarmed, many in uniform, grenadiers, fusileers and light 
infantry with the flag in their midst. The officers reminded them 
of the law, of the orders given them, and of the departmental 
decree, but the crowd assured them that their intentions were 
good, that they did not wish to commit any disorder, that they 
only wished to present their respects to the assembly, to celebrate 
the oath of the tennis court, and to plant a liberty tree to per- 
petuate its memory. They said again that the assembly had re- 
ceived other petitioners and they did not see why they should not 
be received. The officers appealed to them in the name of the 
country and in the name of humanity to consider the frightful 
evils which might follow their conduct, but the citizens answered 
that no one had cause to fear and that they would guarantee that 
no disorder would be committed, but that nothing could prevent 
them from marching. The magistrates reminded them that in 
order to be good officers they were forced to execute the law, 
whereupon the citizens answered that they recognized this fact 
and that they also would be good citizens and that if cannon were 
to be used against them they also must have some. They then 
asked the officers to carry their flags. Whereupon the crowd 
yielded to its impatience and cried, "En avant! monsieur le com- 
mandant, en avant!" and Alexandre gave the order to march. 
The officers returned to the municipality where they made their 
report. At the same time, the municipality of Gentilly arrived 
and asked permission to join the procession.^'' 

During all this excitement a crowd had gathered in the neigh- 
boring section Jardin des Plantes trying to take away from the 
commandant of the battalion, LafTond, his cannon. He dis- 
patched two letters to Petion asking for instructions.^"" 

Meanwhile at the Hotel de Ville the mayor had not been idle. 
We have seen that when Petion learned that the directory refused 
on the 19th to legalize the procession he had great fear of the 

°' " Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet, Guiard et Thomas " ; " Con- 
duite tenue par M. le maire." Alexandre in his Memoires says he gave 
the order to march, Masson, Petites histoires, i. serie, 246-58. 

^°° Laff ond to Petion, June 20, 1792, in Archives Nationales ¥''4474^". 

256 



The Uprising of June 20, i2C)2 61 

consequences and so dispatched an order to the commandants of 
the battalions urging them to obey the decree of the directory. 
We also saw that he then convoked the municipahty for the 
morning of the 20th and sent several municipal officers and 
some administrators of police to the faubourgs, but he gave no 
order to the commandant of the national guard who came to him 
at eight o'clock in the morning as requested. He kept him wait- 
ing until eleven-thirty while the municipality held its session.^"^ 
The attendance was not full. According to the statement of four 
of the municipal officers, Borie, Desmousseaux, J. J. Leroux and 
Jallier, they did not receive their summons until nine o'clock and 
Champion states that he received none at all.^"^ When the ses- 
sion opened, Petion communicated to them the reports that he 
had received from the administrators of police and the corre- 
spondence with the department. He told them that it was not 
possible to stop the march of so great a crowd of citizens and 
suggested to them what he said seemed the only reasonable thing 
to do under the circumstances — to legalize the procession. In 
order to do this it would be necessary to authorize the battalions 
to march and to rally the armed citizens in the midst of them 
and under the command of the chiefs.^°" They then passed the 
following decree : " The municipal corps being informed that a 
great number of citizens in all kinds of uniforms and all kinds of 
arms propose to present themselves to the national assembly and 
to the king to present an address and to celebrate at the same time 
the anniversary of the oath of the tennis court, decrees: That the 
chief of the legion, commandant of the national guard shall 
immediately give the necessary orders to assemble under the flag 
citizens in all kinds of uniforms, with all kinds of arms, who 
will march thus assembled under the command of the officers of 
the battalions.""* According to statements of three municipal 

^°^" Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers "; "Declaration du sieur 
Desmousseaux." 

"^ " Proces-verbal dresse par M. Borie"; "Declaration de M. J. J. 
Leroux," " Declaration de M. Jallier " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par M. 
Champion " ; " Declaration du sieur Desmousseaux." 

"^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

"* Decree of the municipal corps, June 20, 1792. 



62 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

officers, Borie, Leroux and Jallier, they arrived at the meeting 
too late to have any part in the adoption of the decree. When 
Borie expressed his displeasure at seeing the law thus violated 
Mouchet answered that the circumstances did not permit of any 
other action.^°^ The law of March 27, 1791 forbade the munici- 
pality to act contrary to a decree of the directory.^"^ After pass- 
ing this decree, the municipality adjourned and the members were 
sent by Petion to the various places where the procession was to 
pass to see that ever3^thing passed off in an orderly manner, 
especially at the assembly and the chateau. ^°^ 

The commandant, who had been at the city hall awaiting orders 
since eight o'clock, received a copy of the decree of the municipal 
corps at eleven-thirty and returned to the headquarters of the na- 
tional guard where he found contradictory orders from the min- 
ister of the interior and the directory. The minister of the interior 
wrote to the directory at nine o'clock, " Without delay give orders 
to the troops to march to the defense of the chateau." This letter 
was at once sent to the commandant with an emphatic order from 
the directory " to lose not an instant " in sending troops to defend 
the Tuileries. The directory not receiving an answer to this order, 
because the commandant, as we have seen, was at the Hotel de 
Ville, sent another order to the headquarters still more explicit, 
requiring him, or in his absence, the first officer in service to 
"lend the help of the national guard or to summon troops of the 
line to assure by all means possible, even by force of arms, the 
safety of the king and all the royal family. "^°^ 

The directory of the department sat in continued session on this 



"° " Proces-verbal dresse par Borie." 

"^ " Rapport fait au conseil du departement par MM. Garnier, Leveillard 
et Demantort," 255. The Revolutions de Paris says (XII, 548) that this 
decree was wiser than that of the directory. 

"^^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire"; "Proces-verbal dresse par MM. 
Mouchet et Boucher Saint-Saveur "; "Proces-verbal dresse par Patris;" 
"Proces-verbal dresse par Boucher Rene;" "Proces-verbal dresse par 
Hii." 

^"^ Terrier to the directory, June 20, 1792, nine o'clock, Directory to the 
commandant, June 20, 1792, nine o'clock; Directory to the etat major, 
June 20, 1792, in Ternaux I, 162. 

258 



The Uprising of June 20, 1^92 63 

morning and kept up constant communication with the minister 
of the interior, the chateau and the assembly. The minister of the 
interior was as much concerned as the directory in the keeping of 
the peace. He was a man of firmness of character and of royahst 
sympathies."^ We saw that he wrote a letter to the directory 
at half past two on the morning of the 19th and received a reply 
and that at six o'clock and at seven the directory sent him dis- 
patches. At eight o'clock he wrote to the king rendering him an 
account of what was happening and assured him that he would 
come to his assistance. ^^° At the same hour he wrote two letters 
to the directory applauding their action and saying that the king 
wished that any attempt to enter the chateau should be resisted. ^^^ 
At nine o'clock he dispatched the order which we have seen above 
to the directory for the commandant and received their reply.^^^ 
At eleven o'clock he again wrote the directory saying that the 
king desired two members of the department to come to the 
Tuileries to report the state of the city and to take precautionary 
measures.^^^ 

The legislative assembly met about noon on the 20th, hut did 
not turn its attention at first, as might have been expected, to a 
consideration of the threatened uprising. After some other busi- 
ness had been brought before it, the president announced that 
the directory of the department wished to be admitted.^^* The 
directory had shown great interest in trying to prevent the pro- 
cession and had been in session since four o'clock in the morning, 
as we have seen, adjourning to attend the assembly as soon as 



™ Mercy to Kaunitz, June 27, 1792, Glagau, Die fransosische Legislative, 

339- 

"" Terrier to Louis XVI, June 20, 1792, eight o'clock, in Archives Na- 
tionales, C 185. 

"^ Terrier to the directory, June 20, 1792, eight o'clock in Rapport du 
ministre de I'interieur. 

^"Terrier to the directory, June 20, 1792, nine o'clock; Directory to 
Terrier, June 20, 1792, in Rapport du ministre de I'interieur. 

"' Terrier to the directory, June 20, 1792, eleven o'clock a. m. in Revue 
retrospective, 2. serie, I, 170. 

^^* Moniteur, XII, 711; Journal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 263; 
Proces-verbal de I'assemhlee nationale, 276. 

259 



64 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

that body convened. ^^^ They were admitted at once and Roederer 
addressed the meeting. He said, "An extraordinary gathering 
of armed men exists at this moment in spite of the law, in spite 
of two decrees, one of the commune, the other of the depart- 
ment." He went on to explain that the gathering was composed 
of persons of various intentions and that it had several objects 
in view. The object of the great majority of the people, he said, 
was certainly to plant a liberty tree, to hold a civic fete, and to 
present a new tribute of its homage to the national assembly, but 
he thought there was reason to fear that the attempt to present 
a petition to the king would be supported by force and as armed 
petitioners they should not be permitted to take such action. 
He added that reports made during the night justified these fears 
and that a letter from the minister of the interior at nine o'clock 
had advised the directory to order out troops at once to defend 
the chateau because the latest reports indicated pressing danger. 
He pleaded for the execution of the decree of the directory and 
of the wishes of the minister of the interior expressed in his 
letter. He said the directory felt responsible to the nation for 
the security of the assembly and of Paris. He again called atten- 
tion to the law forbidding all armed assemblies and all unarmed 
ones except by permission of the municipality, and to the law 
against deputations of more than twenty persons for the purpose 
of presenting petitions. He said that while today men might 
be assembled for civic purposes, tomorrow there might assemble 
malcontents, enemies of the revolution and of the assembly. He 
asked, "What will we say to them? What obstacle can we put 
in the way of their gathering? In a word, how can we and the 
municipality answer for your safety if the law does not furnish 
the means ? " He urged the assembly to uphold the law and not 
to receive this armed multitude in its midst, and to let nothing 
diminish its obligation to die for the sake of the public peace.^^^ 

"* Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 23. 

^^Moniteur, XII, 711-12; Journal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 261; 
Proces-verbal de I'assemblee nationale, Z^T, Journal de I'assemblee na- 
tionale, XXI, 296. Roederer cites the last as giving the text of his ad- 
dresses. I have followed it. Le patriate frangais. No. 1046, p. 689, says 

260 



The Uprising of June 20, i'j<^2 65 

There were frequent murmurs from the galleries during this 
address especially when the good intentions of the people were 
called into question. There was little applause. 

The president, Frangois de Nantes, after quieting the galleries 
said, " The national assembly will take into consideration the 
account that you have submitted to it. It invites you to attend 
its session." The directory then entered the hall amidst murmurs 
of the galleries and applause of a part of the assembly.^^'^ 

The conduct of the Girondins in the assembly at this time 
shows decided sympathy with the uprising. Vergniaud was the 
first speaker. He said he agreed with Roederer that civism alone 
actuated the citizens, but that the assembly ought to take the pre- 
cautions that prudence commanded in order to prevent any act 
that might be provoked by the ill-intentioned. He thought it 
would be more regular if both they and the constituent assembly 
had conformed to the principles that forbade the introduction of 
an armed force into the legislative body because, even if civism 
brought men here today, tomorrow the ill-intentioned might bring 
in soldiers ; that the sanctuary of the law ought to be open only 
to legislators; that by following the example of the constitutent 
assembly they had been abettors of irregular conduct of the 
citizens and having accorded this permission to other delegations 
they ought not to be astonished at this request. He said, how- 
ever, that the position here was a critical one because while other 
armed gatherings had been formed without asking permission of 
the administrative bodies, this one had done so. He thought 
prudence would not allow them to assume bad intentions on the 
part of the people and that having once accorded the privilege of 
marching through the hall they could not refuse it now. He did 
not think that the citizens intended to send armed petitioners 
to the king and while he did not believe that there was any danger 

that without doubt Roederer was fulfilling his duty by this address rather 
than expressing his opinion. 

^^"^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 296-98. This paper is called 
the most exact and the most complete journal of the national assembly, 
Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 24, note; Hatin, Bibliographie de 
la presse periodique frangaise. 

261 



66 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

he said, if there was, the assembly should share it and so asked 
for a deputation of sixty members to be sent to the king to 
remain till the gathering was dispersed.^^^ 

Gilbert then said that he had no doubt that the greater part 
of the citizens were well meaning but said the fact that they had 
not obeyed Petion whose patriotism and influence were well 
known and who had made every effort this morning to disperse 
the gathering, proved that there were ill-intentioned ones among 
them.^^" He supported Vergniaud's motion.^-" 

Thorillon then reported what has already been noted above as 
having occurred that morning in the section of the Gobelins. 
His speech brought out the fact that the people marched in 
spite of the protestations of the police and dragged cannon with 
them.121 

Dumolard rendered justice to the purity of the sentiments 
which animated the citizens and said he was far from believing 
that the majority of them had criminal intentions. But he 
thought that in these critical circumstances the best of citizens 
might become instruments of intrigues and manoeuvers with which 
the assembly was besieged every day. He said the time had 
come when they ought to place the constitution upon the respect- 

"* The points in this speech are supported by three daily newspapers, 
Moniteur, XII, 714; Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 299; Journal 
des debats et decrets. No. 268, p. 263; Three other dailies support a few of 
the points, all agreeing upon Vergniaud's defense of the citizens' good in- 
tentions and his request for a deputation to be sent to the king. Chron- 
ique de Paris, No. 174, p. 690; Le patriate frangais, No. 1046, p. 690; 
Annates patriotiques et litteraires, No. 173, p. 760; Proces-verbal de 
I'assemblee nationale, zi^, says Vergniaud asked that the citizens should 
present themselves before the assembly and the king unarmed and that he 
asked for the deputation to the king. 

'^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 300; Journal des debats et 
decrets. No. 268, p. 264; Moniteur, XII, 715. 

'^"Journal de I'assemblee nationale is the only paper making this direct 
statement, but Gilbert's speech is plainly meant to show the importance 
of Vergniaud's motion. 

^'"■Jbid., XXI, 351; Journal des debats et decrets. No. 268, p. 264; The 
Moniteur does not give Thorillon's report of what occurred in the fau- 
bourg but says the crowd refused to obey the police and dragged cannon. 

262 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 67 

able basis of the peace and prosperity of the empire; that the 
time had come when they ought to execute the law in order to 
teach the constituted authorities to execute it. He said he 
understood how the national assembly, led by the example of its 
predecessors, had up to this time received deputations of armed 
men in its midst, but that the law which forbade this existed 
none the less and that past infractions could not justify future 
infractions. He reminded the assembly that at the beginning of 
its sessions it had felt that it would be dangerous to admit not 
only armed deputations but too large a number of unarmed men 
and for that reason had passed a decree limiting the number to 
ten. This decree ought to be rigorously executed and it could 
not be if the ten unarmed persons presenting themselves at the 
bar should be supported by several thousand armed men out- 
side. He asked them to remember that all France had its eyes 
turned upon them and that ill-intentioned persons might easily 
misinterpret their conduct. " If," he continued, " in spite of the 
decrees of the department and of the municipality, in spite of 
laws most formal and most holy, in spite of the excitement and 
the disorder which reigns in a misled multitude, they should 
penetrate into our midst and into the chateau, it will be con- 
cluded that neither the assembly nor the king are free. This 
imputation would be injurious to the citizens of Paris. It is 
important to silence calumniators. It is important to show to 
our fellow citizens that the intrigues of aristocrats and of anarch- 
ists are equally powerless ; that the constitution will not perish 
by their efforts, but will triumph over all of its enemies." He said 
he was far from resenting the motion of Vergniaud, that on 
the contrary it appeared essential, since it would show a union 
which ought to exist between the two powers for the welfare of 
the country. It is more essential still to show to all Europe that 
the assembly is not the dupe of a faction that wishes to destroy 
the constitution and liberty. He then asked, first that Vergniaud's 
motion be put to vote and, second that the department of Paris 
be asked to report at the evening session the measures it had 
taken to execute the law. This speech was very often interrupted 
by murmurs or applause and at the close both were violent. Many 

263 



68 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

members at once sprang to their feet demanding recognition, 
but at this point the president interrupted the debate by announc- 
ing a letter from Santerre, commandant of one of the battaHons 
of the faubourg Saint-Antoine. A scene of confusion followed 
in which applause, murmurs and cries within mingled with the 
■ commotion from without. The procession had reached the viciniiy 
of the assembly and was demanding admittance.^^^ 

We have seen that the two faubourgs, Saint-Antoine and Saint- 
Marcel, began to gather at five o'clock in the morning, one on the 
boulevard Salpetriere and the other near the Bastille, and that 
they were joined by cannoneers, grenadiers, officers from the 
sections and commissioners of police; that they determined to 
persist in their purpose of marching to the assembly in spite of 
the efforts of the municipal officers to disperse them. We saw, 
too, that Alexandre gave the command to march to the assembled 
crowd in the faubourg Saint-Marcel, which proceeded to join the 
inhabitants of the faubourg Saint-Antoine. Alexandre tells us 
that just at the moment of starting, he received the decree of the 
municipal corps which permitted the citizens in any dress and 
with any kind of arms to march under the command of the 
officers of the battalion. He says that the decree relieved him of 
an enormous burden and that under the circumstances he regarded 
it as a great benefit. ^-^ The two faubourgs were separated by the 
Seine and it was necessary to cross either 'by means of ferry 
boats at the place where the present Austerlitz bridge stands or 
farther on at the He Saint-Louis by the Tournelle and Marie 
bridges, or passage might be made even farther down the river 
by the bridges of the Cite. These last, Alexandre tells us in his 
Mem aires, were guarded by troops under orders from the court. 
He decided to cross by way of the He Saint-Louis and to his great 
astonishment he arrived without obstacle in the midst of the 
faubourg Saint-Antoine where he effected a juncture with the 
battalions that awaited him.^^* The juncture was effected without 



^^^ Journal de I'assemUee nationale, XXI, 301-13; Journal dcs debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 264-65; Moniteur, XII, 715. 
"^ " Rapport d' Alexandre." 
"* " Memoires d'Alexandre." 

264 



The Uprising of June 20, ly^s 69 

accident on the site of the Bastille and the united cokimn set out 
directing its march toward the national assembly.^^^ The pro^ 
cession marched under orders from Santerre, "who," as Alex- 
andre said, " was my senior and whose second I became."^^*' 

Alexandre continues, "The route was long, but every thing 
passed off in an orderly way. No one was insulted and almost 
everywhere people showed signs of joy and satisfaction by 
applause and repeated acclamations.""^ The line of march fol- 
lowed the rue Saint-Antoine to the Place Bandoyer, thence by 
the rue Marche Saint-Jean it reached the direct line of the rue 
de la Verrerie and the rue des Lombards. From this point by 
the rue de la Ferronnerie, it entered the rue Saint-Honore which 
it followed up to a point where a cross street led to the Place 
Vendome. On the left was the monastery of the Feuillants. 
Here it halted."^ 

The grounds and buildings in this vicinity have been much 
changed since 1792. Then the space between the garden of the 
Tuileries and the rue Saint-Honore was irregularly covered by 
the buildings, courts and passages of the monastery of the Feuil- 
lants. Today the rue de Rivoli occupies the part of this space 
bordering on the garden of the Tuileries and is separated from 
it by a grating. A cross street, Castiglione, leading from this 
grating to the Place Vendome has also been cut out of this space. 
The part of the rue de Rivoli from the former site of the Tuil- 
eries to the rue Castiglione formed then the court of the manege. 
This court was separated from the terrace of the Feuillants by a 
wall now replaced by the grating. Thus it will be seen that the 

"' Rapport d' Alexandre." 

128 « Memoires d'Alexandre " It will be noted that for this incident — 
the juncture of the two faubourgs — we have only the accounts of Alexan- 
dre. In the "Rapport" he gives only the general statement of the union 
being effected without accident and of the procession starting out toward 
the assembly. In the " Memoires," he gives more details. 

^ " Rapport d'Alexandre." 

^^ " Rapport " and " Memoires " of Alexandre. In the " Rapport ''' 
Alexandre states that he received the decree of the municipality just as 
the procession started but in the " Memoires " he says he received it when 
they reached the rue Saint-Honore. 

265 



70 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

manege and its court extended between the terrace of the Feuil- 
lants and the garden of the Tuileries. 

The manege which had been appropriated for the use of the 
constitutional assembly when it was transferred from Versailles 
to Paris in 1789, was a building about one hundred fifty feet 
long standing parallel to the terrace of the Feuillants. Its long, 
narrow court served as an avenue. It was this court through 
which the procession would have to pass in order to reach the 
chateau. The entrance to the manege could be effected at either 
end of the building, but in order to get the procession out of the 
end leading to the chateau it must enter the end toward the 
Feuillants. Since the chateau was the objective point, it is clear 
why the leaders brought the procession up the rue Saint-Honore 
as far as the Feuillants. Here they could pass between the 
buildings of the Feuillants and those of the Capucins which stood 
next to them. The courts and the gardens of these two monas- 
teries opened into each other.^^^ About the time that the pro- 
cession arrived at the Feuillants by the rue Saint-Honore, two 
municipal officers whom Petion had sent to the vicinity of the 
Tuileries, Mouchet and Boucher-Saint-Sauveur, learning that the 
cortege was in the rue Saint-Honore, proceeded to its head. They 
described it as being headed by sappers, national guards and 
cannon and dragging with it the wagon upon which the liberty 
tree was placed. They asked the citizens what they intended to 
do. They received answer that they were going to the national 
assembly. When the officers told them that they could not legally 
enter in such great numbers, they answered that they were going 
to ask permission and the officers accompanied the leaders to 
the assembly door.^^° 

The procession as it reached the rue Saint-Honore is thus 
described by an eyewitness who wrote, almost at the time, for a 
contemporary newspaper : 

" The faubourgs assembled upon the site of the Bastille, set out in good 
order about ten o'clock, the tables of the rights of man at their head, 

^°' See map of Paris in 1792, Brette, Histoire des edifices oil ont siege les 
assemblies ; Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 33. 
''" Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet et Boucher Saint-Sauveur. 

266 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 71 

placed between several pieces of cannon. They showed the same honors 
to the liberty tree which they proposed to set up in the garden of the 
Tuileries opposite the chateau. Various inscriptions were borne aloft in 
the procession, none of which announced any dark designs of brigands. 
Here could be read, ' The nation, the law.' ' When the country is in danger 
all the sans-culottes are aroused,' ' Long live the national assembly,* 

* Warning to Louis XVI, The people, weary of suffering, wish entire 
liberty or death,' ' We wish only union, liberty, long live equality,^ 

* Free and sans-culottes, we will preserve at least the fragments,' ' People 
and national guards, we are only one, we wish to be only one.' When it 
arrived at the rue Saint Honore the procession, which had grown at each 
step, was truly imposing and solemn. This crowd of people of all condi- 
tions and in all kinds of costurnes, armed as they had been in July, 1789, 
with every weapon that came to their hands, marched in a disorder which 
was only apparent. This was not a mob; these were the people of the first 
city of the world, full of the sentiment of liberty and filled at the same 
time with respect for the law which they had made. Touching fraternal 
feeling and equality alone honored this fete in which were found pellmell, 
locking arms with each other, national guards with their uniforms and 
without, more than two hundred of the oldest of the invalides, a great 
number of women and children of all ages, and very few epaulets; but 
red caps, all the charcoal burners and all the market porters in fine feather. 
Among the arms of all kinds with which this mass of men bristled, were 
seen great boughs, bouquets of flowers and ears of corn. An unrestrained 
joy animated this picture and passed into the hearts of the onlookers."^ 

It was thus that the people arrived at the court of the Feuil- 
lants at half past one o'clock and asked permission, through their 
leader, Santerre, to enter the assembly. As has already been 
said, the president interrupted the discussion to announce a letter 
which he had received from the commandant of the faubourg 
Saint-Antoine, dated June 20, 1792, and which read as follows: 

" Mr. President, The inhabitants of the faubourg Saint-Antoine are 
celebrating today the anniversary of the oath of the tennis court; they 
come to present their homage to the national assembly. Their intentions 
have been calumniated ; they ask the honor of being admitted today at the 

^^Revolutions de Paris, XII, 548-50, dated June 16-23, I792. A similar 
description is found in Courrier des 83 departements, IX, written by one 
who claims to have been an eye witness. This account is reprinted in a 
pamphlet called, Recit general. Another briefer and evidently prejudiced 
account, by one who says he saw the procession is found in Correspond- 
ance politique, LXIII, 3. 

267 



72 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

bar; they will a second time confound their cowardly detractors, they 
will prove today that they are the friends of law and of liberty, the men 
of the 14th of July. I am with respect, Mr. President, your very humble 
and very obedient servant. Santerre, commandant of battalion.""^ 

The reading of this letter called forth much applause from 
the assembly and the galleries. There was great excitement, and 
amidst applause, murmurs and cries, Lasource finally got the 
floor. He said that he had some information that would quiet 
their fears; that the orator of the citizens had just been in one 
of the offices of the assembly and had asked him to say to the 
assembly that they had no other object than to present their 
respectful homage; that they asked to march before them; that 
in truth they had an address to present to the king but that they 
did not intend to go to the chateau ; that they wished to leave this 
address on the desk of the assembly for it to make use of as it 
saw fit and that they would make a formar agreement not to go 
to the chateau. 

Vergniaud spoke next. He said he shared the opinion of Dumo- 
lard that the constitution ought to be put upon a firm basis and 
the laws executed. He thought, if the people had violated the 
law, it was because both the constituent and the present assembly 
had favored such a violation by allowing similar gatherings ; 
that if they ordered the directory and the municipality to execute 
the law rigorously they would be renewing the bloody scenes of 
the Champ-de-Mars. Here were heard applause from the gal- 
leries and murmurs from one side of the house. He continued, 
" If you take this action which is not in your hearts, the assembly 
will place an ineffaceable blot upon its history." [Applause from 
the galleries.] Again he pleaded precedent for the error of the 
citizens and said that they could not believe that they would be 
denied admission. He insisted that since they had been assured 
of the purity of the motives of the citizens they could not refuse 
them because — and this, he said, was a very important point — ■ 
" the people have been justly restless and they wish to prove to 
you that whatever intrigue or manoeuver may be used to frighten 

"^Ternaux I, 169; Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 303; Recit 
general, 10. 

268 



The Uprising of June 20, i/p^ 73 

you about their object, the inhabitants of the faubourg Saint- 
Antoine will always be the firmest defenders of the law." He 
then asked that these petitioners already assembled be allowed to 
pass through their midst, but asked the assembly to pass a decree 
prohibiting all future admission of armed men. He closed with 
the applause of the galleries and a part of the assembly. ^^^ 

Then there was a real tumult in which some members called 
for the question, others tried to get the floor and others accused 
the president of unfairness in wishing to close the discussion. 

Ramond, member of the Right, was allowed by a vote of the 
assembly to speak. He said Vergniaud had alleged justly that, 
having up to the present time admitted armed men to march be- 
fore it, the assembly could not now refuse those who asked the 
same favor, but that he had omitted one essential difference be- 
tween the present case and former ones. He said that up to the 
present time no one had warned the citizens that they were break- 
ing the law, that no constituted authority had shown them their 
error and so they had not violated a law of the realm and that 
this case was essentially different. Here murmurs were heard. 
But he continued that he thought better of the dispositions of the 
citizens than Vergniaud did and having mingled with them since 
the beginning of the revolution he had a right to speak of their in- 
tentions. He said that when Vergniaud feared that the execu- 
tion of the law would cause bloodshed he did not know to what 
degree the respect for law was graven on the hearts of all the 
citizens.^^* 

Here the president interrupted the discussion and announced 
that the commandant of the national guard had informed him that 
the petitioners to the number of eight thousand were at the door 
and asked to be admitted. In the tumult which this occasioned, 
Calvet cried, "They are eight thousand and we are only seven 

^^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 304; Journal des dehats et de- 
crets. No. 268, p. 265; Moniteur, XII, 715. All the points in these two 
speeches are supported by these three papers except the last point in 
Vergniaud's speech which is not made clear in the Journal de I'assemblee 
nationale. 

''' Ibid. 

269 



74 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

hundred and forty-five ; I propose that we suspend the session and 
go out."^^^ This caused a still greater tumult and several mem- 
bers spoke at once. There were cries for Ramond to continue, 
for Calvet to be called to order. It was said that it would be 
cowardly to adjourn and finally the president called Calvet to 
order and quiet was reestablished. Ramond then replied to Cal- 
vet, saying, " Eight thousand men await at your door your decis- 
ion ; twenty-five millions await it no less."^^*' He then continued 
his speech. He said that more than any one he believed in the 
respect citizens have for the law ; he believed that the legislative 
body would fail in its most sacred duty if it did not warn them 
of the respect they owed to the constituted authorities ; that the 
legislative body was not only the lawmaker but the teacher of the 
people ; that it ought not only to watch over the constituted author- 
ities, but over the citizens who constituted them ; and that it owed 
it to the law, which is the divinity of a free people, to warn them 
that they were transgressing a law which they had promulgated. 
He said he did not fear to see the entire people around them and 
that the more there were, the more opinions would be enlightened 
by the expression of the public wish ; that no one desired more 
than he to see the citizens pass before them and to see the display 
of arms which would frighten their enemies, but that the assembly 
ought to demand that those arms be deposited at the door, else 
their act would take on the character of fear. [Applause and 
murmurs.] He said he applauded the generous sentiment which 
actuated Vergniaud's motion to send sixty members to the Tuile- 
ries but, convinced that there was no cause for fear in the midst 
of the people of Paris, he called for the previous question. But 
he asked that the legislative body, faithful to its duty, present to 
the empire and to all Europe the spectacle of an obedient multi- 
tude. He then insisted on his demand that the citizens deposit 
their arms at the door before they entered. [Murmurs in the 
galleries and, from the Left, some applause.] 

'^^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 305; Journal des debats et de- 
crets, No. 268; p. 267; The Moniteur gives the same thought in different 
words. 

'''Ibid. 

270 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 75 

Gaudet took the floor. He said that when the sections of Paris 
had before presented themselves armed and had asked the honor 
of marching through the hall they had each time been accorded 
the favor ; on this day the citizens of the faubourg Saint-Antoine 
asked the same favor [interruption] but suddenly it was discov- 
ered that this was a violation of the law and the demand was made 
that this seditious gathering be repressed with all the rigor of the 
law. (Several voices cried, " Not true, not true.") He said that 
it seemed to him that in the minds of these gentlemen the opinion 
of Dumolard did not deserve to be refuted, but that he thought it 
did. He went on to say that the demand of Ramond to deposit 
their arms was absolutely impractical and based upon what? A 
violation of the decree of the directory of the department of Paris. 
How could they speak of a decree of the directory, when they 
knew that a former law of the nation forbids the march in arms, 
and that the assembly has already permitted such processions. 
[Applause from the galleries.] It would be a revolting injustice 
to refuse them. He said this measure resembled that of a Roman 
emperor who had the laws written in such small letters that the 
citizens could not read them that he might find many occasions for 
punishment. Here there was violent agitation among the mem- 
bers and applause in the galleries. Some cried to call Gaudet to 
order; others called for Ramond's motion, and one member 
shouted that those who had brought the citizens here could not 
well send them away, but Gaudet added that the assembly had 
led the citizens into error and had deceived them and so he de- 
manded the admission of the petitioners. Many voices called for 
the question and the galleries applauded wildly. The assembly 
closed the discussion. ^^"^ 

During the debate the procession, led by Santerre, Alexandre 
and Saint-Huruge, was waiting outside. It had approached the 
manege through the rue Saint-Honore, going as far as the gate 
of the Feuillants. There it passed into the narrow court of 
the manege to the foot of the stairway leading to the hall of the 



"^^'^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 307-10; Journal des dehats 
dccrets. No. 268, p. 267-69; Moniteur, XII, 716. 

t 271 



76 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

assembly. The court was separated from the terrace of the Feuil- 
lants (also known as the terrace of the Tuileries) by a wall in 
which there was a gate.^^® This gate, leading to the garden of 
the Tuileries, had been closed this morning by orders from the 
chateau and was guarded by a detachment sent by Mandat of the 
fourth legion with three pieces of cannon. ^^^ The procession, led 
by soldiers, had intended to pass through the gate and plant the 
maypole on the terrace of the Feuillants, but on finding it shut 
and guarded, that part of the crowd which had charge of the 
wagon carrying the poplar tree entered the garden of the Capucins 
nearby and amused themselves by planting the tree there.^*° At 
the same time, the crowd in the passage leading to the terrace of 
the Feuillants increased to the point of suffocation. Not only was 
this gate closed but the one leading to the assembly was also 
closed and guarded. The head of the column being thus checked 
in the passage and the crowd from behind constantly moving up, 
the pressure became intolerable. The aspect of the cannon 
pointed at the gate from within, the fact of the gate being ordered 
closed when it was ordinarily open, and the terrible pressure 



^^ " Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet et Boucher Saint-Sauveur ;" 
Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 35. 

^^^ " Copie du rapport du chef de la quatrieme legion" [Mandat]. 

^*** Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 35 ; " Declaration de Larey- 
nie"; Recit generate, 9. This pamphlet is an extract from the Courrier 
des 83 departements, IX, by Gorsas. He says he saw the procession. He 
makes an explanation of why the liberty tree was planted in the garden 
of the Capucins. He says it was Santerre's request not to plant it on the 
terrace of the Tuileries, because he feared disorder would resuh, and 
that he also dissuaded the people from firing a cannon to announce the 
planting and that finally they consented to plant it in the court of the 
Capucins. Lareynie in his declaration made before the judge of the peace 
of the section Roi de Sicile, explains that the people themselves feared 
that they would be fired upon in the garden of the Feuillants or the Tuile- 
ries and gave this as a reason to Santerre for planting the maypole in the 
garden of the Capucins. Roederer sees in this planting of the tree in the 
garden of the Capucins, a proof of the lack of plan, of an object, of a 
leader and an absence of all understanding among the participants. He 
believes that the designing men in the crowd hoped that an assassin would 
be found among them who would attack the king. 



272 



^ 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/g2 77 

caused by the ever-increasing crowd aroused the head of the 
column to a state of fury and they struck violent blows at the 
gate, determined to break it down.^*^ 

Three municipal officers, Boucher-Rene, Boucher-Saint-Sau- 
veur and Mouchet, who had been sent to the chateau by the mayor, 
were in the garden of the Tuileries at this time and seeing the 
danger from the press and hearing the blows and threats of break- 
ing the gate, rushed to the head of the procession to calm the 
crowd. The people asked the officers to open the gate. They re- 
plied that they could not give orders to the chateau, but they would 
go there and try to get an order to have the gate opened. They first 
asked a commandant on the terrace who in turn directed them to 
the general commandant. But just at this time the noise redoubled 
and the officers saw that a cannon had been placed before the gate 
and directed against the citizens. They succeeded in having the 
cannon withdrawn. They asked the people to be patient until they 
returned and went to the Tuileries. On reaching the chateau, 
they asked for Romainvilliers, the commandant of the national 
guard, but he could not be found. They then called for M. de 
Wittinghof, commandant at the Tuileries. They were shown into 
the apartments where they said they saw a large number of people 
clothed in black. These men, whose presence and manner were 
mysterious and therefore a source of irritation and suspicion, were 
the king's personal guards. The king sent them away before 
the crowd entered to avoid serious trouble."- The king appeared. 
He asked what the situation in Paris was. Boucher-Rene re- 



'■^ " Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet et Boucher Saint-Sauveur " ; 
Roederer, Chronique de cinqiiante jours, 35; " Copie du rapport du chef 
de la quatrieme legion" [Mandat]. 

"^ Poullenot to Petion, June 23, 1792, Archives nationales ¥^4774; Addi- 
tion to " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Declaration de Jaladon " 
says they came to him to ask for more guards for the king's apartment; 
Nouvelle correspondance politique, XII, g, says there were 150 of them 
ready to form a rampart with their bodies for the king. According to 
this newspaper the king feared a renewal of the scenes of the 20th of Feb- 
ruary and to prevent it, sent them away. This same statement is made 
by Bourcet, {Revolution frangaise, XVII, 74). See also KHnckowstrom, 
n, 307- 

273 



78 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

plied that the object of the procession was to celebrate the anni- 
versary of the oath of the tennis court and to present a petition 
to the assembly and to his majesty. The king seemed astonished 
that the magistrate should see so simple an act in this extraordi- 
nary movement and recalled the decree of the council and that of 
the directory. Then Mouchet reviewed the efforts that they had 
made since five o'clock to check the uprising and assured the king 
that since they were not able to prevent the procession they 
thought it best to legalize it and assemble the people under the 
flag; that the municipality had also taken the precaution to send 
its members to various places as seemed necessary and that they 
three were especially charged with the chateau. He said it was 
with great anxiety that they had noticed that the Tuileries, usually 
open to the public, had been closed just as the cortege arrived and 
that the people in the narrow passage showed discontent at this. 
He urged the king to open the gate saying that the cannon pointed 
at the people tended more to irritate than to appease them. 
"Your duty," said the king, "is to execute the law." Mouchet 
insisted that if the gate of the terrace of the Feuillants was not 
opened it would be forced. The king then replied, " You ought 
to execute the law. Come to an understanding with the com- 
mandant of the national guard ; if you think necessary have the 
gate of the terrace of the Feuillants opened so that the citizens 
may pass along the terrace and go out by the court of the ecuries. 
See that the public peace is not violated ; your duty imposes sur- 
veillance upon you." The officers rushed to carry the order to 
Aclocq who was in command of the troops but by the time they 
reached the gate it had been forced and the crowd had filled the 
garden of the Tuileries.^^^ Whether the gate was forced open 

^^ " Proces-verbal dresse par MM. Mouchet et Boucher-Saint-Sauveur ;" 
" Proces-verbal dresse par M. Boucher-Rene;" "Rapport du chef de la 
deuxieme legion " [Aclocq] ; " Declaration de M. Genty, premier valet de 
garde-robe du roi," in Ternaux, I, 404; Terrier to the directory, report 
of June 26, 1792. These last two give the text of the king's order. 
Roederer (36) thinks that Mouchet represented the mass of the bour- 
geoisie of Paris who feared the popular fury but who feared even more 
the royal treason and so would use the uprising of the proletariat to force 
the court to greater uprightness and fidelity. 

274 



The Uprising of June 20, lygs 79 

by a beam from the railing or whether it yielded to the pressure 
of the crowd can not be affirmed.^** 

While the passage from the Feuillants to the Tuileries was 
being forced by one part of the crowd and while a second had re- 
lieved the pressure by entering the garden of the Capucins, a 
third part was awaiting, at the door of the assembly, the end of 
the discussion on the question of admitting them. As Gaudet 
finished his speech many members were on their feet asking for 
recognition. Suddenly, a deputation appeared at the bar and the 
tumult was redoubled. The president put on his hat and the 
deputation retired. He explained to the assembly that this pre- 
cipitate entrance was a mistake made in a moment of extreme agi- 
tation and said he would put the question of admission to a vote. 
Lacroix then explained that the mistake was made by an usher 
and that when the deputation discovered its error it retired. He 
moved that the question be put to vote and the assembly amidst 
applause of the galleries and one side, voted to admit the deputa- 
tion bearing the petition.^^^ It was now about two o'clock in the 
afternoon.^*® 

When the column in the court of the Feuillants received per- 
mission to march through the assembly hall, the leaders recalled 
the crowds that had entered the garden of the Capucins and the 
garden of the Tuileries. 

The deputation was led by Huguenin as its orator, who read 
a long and energetic petition which had been prepared, as we have 
seen, at the faubourg Saint-Antoine.^*'^ The presentation of this 



"'J. J. Leroux says it was forced by a beam, but the other witnesses 
do not say how it was opened. 

'^^^ Journal de rassemhlee nationale, XXI, 310; Journal des debats et de- 
crets, No. 267, p. 269; Moniteur, XII, 716; The Gazette de France, No. 
86, a daily newspaper, stated, June 21, 1792, that the necessity of the cir- 
cumstances {i. e., armed citizens at the door) was responsible for the 
assembly's rejection of Roederer's view as well as the fact of the major- 
ity's real feelings on the matter. 

"° Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 30. 

^'" Ibid., 30. Roederer gives the name Huguenin. Azema {Revolution 
frangaise, XXVII, 172), gives Enguenet and Lenguenet but no other 
sources give the name of this orator. Roederer says he was a man with- 

275 



8o Laura B. Pfeiffer 

petition to the national assembly was one of the avowed objects 
of this day's uprising. A careful examination of its contents 
may serve to throw some light upon the movement. " Legisla- 
tors," began the orator, " the French people come today to present 
to you their fears and their anxieties. In your midst they put 
aside their alarms and hope to find the remedy for their ills." 

He then referred to the oath of the tennis court taken on this 
memorable day when the representatives swore not to abandon 
the people's cause and asked the assembly not to abandon 
this afflicted people. He said the people were stirred and were 
ready to employ rigorous measures to avenge their outraged maj- 
esty and that they found their justification in article two of the 
declaration of the rights of man — resistance to oppression. " But 
what a misfortune for free men who have transmitted all their 
powers to you to see themselves reduced to the cruel necessity of 
washing their hands in the blood of conspirators. There is no 
more time to dissimulate : the plot is discovered ; the hour has 
arrived. Blood will flow or the tree of liberty which we are going 
to plant will flourish in peace." 

He asked if the enemies of the country imagined that the men 
of the 14th of July were asleep. If so, their awakening would 
be terrible, for the immortal declaration of the rights of man 
was too profoundly graven on their hearts. 

He insisted that it was time to put article two into execution. 
He called upon them to imitate Cicero, who in open senate ex- 
posed the perfidious machinations of Catiline. " You have men 
animated with the sacred fire of patriotism : let them speak and 
let us act." He said they had always believed that their union 
was their strength and that union should exist essentially among 
the legislators, that when discussing the interests of the state the 
legislator's heart should be single to it and inaccessible to any 
individual interest. "Will this image of the country — the only 



out talent and without ideas. Neither is it certain who drew the petition 
up. L'indicateur, No. XXXIII, a daily newspaper of the time, stated in 
the issue of June 21, 1792, that Lasource in concert with Brissot drew 
it up but it offered no proof and as we have seen above there is no other 
evidence connecting these men with the movement. 

276 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/p2 81 

divinity that he is permitted to worship — find in its temple, those 
rebellious to its cult? Let them name themselves the friends of 
arbitrary power. Let them purge the earth of liberty. Let them 
go to Coblenz to join the emigres. . . . There they can plot with- 
out regrets ; there they will conspire against their country which 
will never fear." 

These, he said, were the words Cicero spoke when he pressed 
the traitor Catiline to join the camp of traitors to the country. He 
urged the assembly to execute the constitution and wish of the 
people who perish in their defense. He said it was time for the 
French people to show themselves worthy of the character that 
they had assumed, that they had broken down prejudice and 
intended to remain free, intended to deliver themselves from 
tyrants leagued against them. Then he added, " You know the 
tyrants. Do not yield before them." 

After these preliminaries of a general nature, three causes for 
complaint can be clearly distinguished : first, the dismissal of the 
patriotic ministers; second, the inaction of the armies and their 
progressive destruction; third, the inaction of the high national 
courts. 

Speaking of the dismissal of the ministers, he said, "The 
executive power is not in accord with you. We wish no other 
proof than the dismissal of the patriotic ministers. Does the wel- 
fare of a free people depend upon the caprice of a king?" He 
added, "We complain of the inaction of our armies. We ask 
that you seek the cause. H it comes from the executive power, 
let it be annihilated. The blood of patriots ought not to flow to 
satisfy the pride and ambition of the perfidious chateau of the 
Tuileries. . . . Shall we see our armies perish gradually? . . . 
H the executive power does not act there is but one alternative; 
you should assume it; one man alone ought not to influence the 
will of twenty-five million men. . . . We complain, finally, of 
the delays of the high national court. You have given it the 
sword of the law. Why does it delay in making it fall upon the 
head of criminals? . . . The people were forced at the crisis of 
July 14 to take this sword into their own hands and avenge with 
one blow the outraged law and punish the criminals." He asked 

277 



82 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

for the permanence of the armies until the constitution should be 
carried into effect. He closed by saying, " This petition is not 
only that of the inhabitants of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, but 
of all sections of the capital and of the environs of Paris. The 
petitioners ask the honor of marching before you."^^® 

The reading of this petition, which has been called " a veritable 
declaration of war on royalty,"^*^ was frequently interrupted by 
applause and at the close there was applause from the galleries 
and members attempted to speak, but the president, Frangaise de 
Nantes, responded : " Citizens, the national assembly and the 
people are one ; we desire your interests, your welfare and your 
liberty, but we also desire the law and the constitution. The 
representatives of twenty-four million men assure you through 
me that we will baffle the plots of conspirators, that we will 
deliver ourselves to the sword of the law, but that the laws alone 
have the right to avenge the nation and that it is only in them 
that you will find the constitution and the liberty that you seek. The 
assembly invites you in the name of respect for the laws and the 
administrative bodies, in the name of the country and of liberty, 
which we cherish and which we have resolved to defend at the 
peril of our lives, ... to attend its session. "^^° The petitioners 
crossed the hall amid applause of the galleries and a part of the 
assembly. 

It was now a question of admitting the procession. Dubayet 
tried to get the floor, but the assembly refused to hear him. The 
president tried several times to put the question, but there were 
protests from members who did not wish to admit the crowd. 
Finally Dumas said, " Out of respect for our oath and for the 



"^The identical text of this petition is found in the Moniteur, XII, 717, 
Revolutions de Paris, XII, 550-52, Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 
310-14, and Journal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 269. 

"'Ternaux, I, 180. 

'^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 314; Moniteur, XII, 717. The 
Journal des debats et decrets is not quite so full as the first two. It also 
mentions interruptions by some members who did not want the deputation 
admitted. But since the first two named are daily newspapers and there- 
fore probably independent and agree in the fuller account, I have followed 
them. 

278 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 83 

honor of the national assembly, I ask for the previous question 
upon the admission of armed citizens." The assembly voted that 
the citizens of the faubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marcel be 
allowed to cross the hall. " Very well then," cried Girardin, " I 
ask for the previous question on all the laws of the realm. "^^^ 

But the assembly seemed to blow hot and cold with the same 
breath; while it admitted the procession, it expressed its dis- 
approval of illegal acts. For now another deputation of two 
battalions from the department of the Gironde, called to the 
frontier for the defense of the country, presented itself, and 
being admitted to the assembly read a petition which has been 
called "the petition of order."^^^ It made no attack upon the 
executive, but presented its homage to the assembly. It expressed 
satisfaction that the time had arrived when it could prove its 
courage and fidelity, adding, " Life is not the greatest sacrifice 
for free men." Here the assembly applauded. The orator con- 
tinued, " Our oaths are dearer than life ; they are based upon the 
noblest sentiments that can animate the human heart, the love of 
country and of law. That which we will never forget is that the 
laws ought always to be present in our memories and dear to our 
hearts; that the military force is essentially obedient [great 
applause] ; that whatever our rank none of us should question 
our order before obeying it [applause] ; that in a free country 
every citizen from the soldier to the general ought to march 
straight to the enemy without looking backward." [Renewed 
applause.] The assembly voted that this discourse should be 
printed, that it should receive honorable mention in the proces- 
verhal and that copies be sent to the eighty-three departments. 
Montant humorously suggested that a copy be sent to Lafayette.^^^ 

The sound of drums and music announced the arrival of the 



"^^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 315; Moniteur, XII, 717; Jour- 
nal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 272. 

"= Louis Blanc, VIII, 60. 

'^^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 316; Moniteur, XII, 718; Jour- 
nal des debats et decrets. No. 267, p. 273. Montant's name is given in the 
Moniteur and in Le patriate franqais. No. 1046, p. 690 but not in the other 
papers. 

279 



84 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

procession. The demonstrators entered, preceded by military 
music. Santerre and Saint-Huruge directed their march and they 
crossed the hall to the tune of Ca ira}^^ Le mercure universel, 
June 21, 1792, gives the following description of the procession 
as it marched through the assembly : 

" The petitioners marched ; women, children, wearing liberty caps and 
carrying branches of trees, tricolored ribbons and a banner upon which was 
written : ' Tyrants, you dare to drive out our pikes, return to the law or 
tremble.' There followed grenadiers, armed national guards, citizens 
with pikes, women with sabers ; all were intermingled, fraternally united, 
presenting only a mass of citizens. In the midst of these imposing groups 
two tables of the form of those of Mount Sinai were religiously sup- 
ported; on these was written the sublime declaration of rights. The 
cries of ' Liberty,' the emblems, the caps, the ribbons, and these inscrip- 
tions a thousand times repeated : ' The constitution ! Live free or die ! The 
constitution or death !,' the green branches, flowers, applause redoubled 
without ceasing, the noise of military music, all presented a sort of rare 
spectacle, where one part of the people dared to reclaim its rights against 
those who constitutionally wished to enslave it. We shall not speak 
of numerous and varied groups of women, children, grenadiers, market 
porters, charcoal burners, priests with swords and guns, and invalides. We 
shall say less still of singular caricatures such as sans-culottes held aloft 
on pikes. Nor shall we speak of the caprice of arms; we saw long 
and very long pikes, forks, scythes, axes, clubs, great saws, large daggers, 
etc. But let us say that the flags of various sections and this forest of 
pikes and bayonets which filled the hall presented a singularity very shock- 
ing for some people and less disagreeable for others. A great banner, 
the ribbons held in women's hands, contained these words : ' Liberty ! 
Tyrants, tremble ; the French are armed ! ' On the other side was written 
' Equality., Reunion of the Faubourgs Saint- Antoine and Saint-Mar- 
ceau.' Anotherbanner bore these words : ' When the country is in danger, 
all the sans-culottes are alert.' And on the other side you read : ' Trem- 
ble tyrants, your reign approaches its end.' "'^^ 

As they moved on, some danced, some shouted, " Long live the 
patriots ! long live the sans-culottes! down with the veto ! " In 
the procession there were carried two emblems, one a pair of old 
knee breeches with the inscription, " Long live the sans-culottes " 



^"^ Ibid. 

^^^ Le mercure universal, June 21, 1792. 

280 



The Uprising of June 20, i^gs 85 

and the other a heart of a calf, marked, " The heart of an 
aristocrat."^^® 

The procession, which has been estimated at twenty thousand 
people, occupied about one hour and a half in passing, entering 
by the door of the Feuillants and going out by the court of the 
manege at the other end of the building/^" When it had passed, 
Santerre returned to the bar of the assembly and said that the 
citizens of the faubourg Saint-Antoine offered their lives for the 
defense of the country and presented a flag as a mark of appre- 
ciation of the kindness shown them. The president accepted it 
and the assembly adjourned at half past three o'clock.^^^ 

On learning of the march of the multitude, measures were 
taken by the commandant to guard the chateau. A number of 
battalions arrived at the Tuileries about one o'clock. Ten were 
placed in the garden upon the terrace before the chateau, two 
upon the terrace on the side of the river, five upon the Place du 
Carrousel, one guarding the gate to prevent entrance there, and 
four upon the Place Louis XV to guard the orangery. Inside was 
one battalion, the guard going off duty and the one relieving, and 
one hundred gendarmes. ^°^ 



^^ Moniteur, XII, 718; Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 317; Jour- 
nal des debats et decrets, No. 267, p. 274; a spectator in the galleries wrote 
that this was a most impressive scene, that every one stood up and that 
the people showed a true majesty, Journal d'une bourgeoise, June 20, 1792. 

"''Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 35; Lettre de Ph-Ch-Ai 
Goupilleau, depute de la Vendee, Paris, June 20, 1792, eleven p. m. 
Madame Tourzelle ("Recit de ce qui s'est passe a la journee du 20 juin") 
who was in the chateau says the time was two hours and a quarter. 

^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 317; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 267, p. 274; Moniteur, XII, 718. The Moniteur says the as- 
sembly adjourned at four o'clock but the other two papers say half past 
three. Goupilleau, a deputy, also says half past three. " Lettre de Gou- 
pilleau," June 20, 1792, eleven p. m. 

"* " Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers ;" Paroy, Memoires. The 
reports of officers on duty at the Tuileries show that some attempt was 
made by the commandant to guard the premises. See reports of Perre, 
Aclocq, Lagarde, Carle, Rulhiere, Lassus, Leclerc, Mandat, Pinon and Mus- 
sery. Bourcet, an eye witness of this scene, states that there were also 
cannon and guards placed on the terrace, Revolution frangaise, XVII, y^', 

281 



86 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

The procession on leaving the assembly hall by the door leading 
into the court of the manege, could have retired by either of two 
routes. It could have followed the long, narrow passageway 
leading out to the rue Saint-Honore, or it could have broken 
through the gate which, at the end of the court, led to the 
garden of the Tuileries, passed along the fagade of the chateau 
and out by the gate of the Pont Royal to the quays beyond. It 
chose the latter route. ^*'° 

The crowd moving on to the end of the court of the manege 
forced the gate of the Dauphin leading to the terrace which ex- 
tended along the fagade of the chateau."^ Mouchet was stationed 
at this gate, exhorting the national guards to remove their 
bayonets and directing the march. He was approached by 
Desmousseaux, substitute for the procureur of the commune, 
accompanied by Cousin, a municipal officer. Desmousseaux 
asked him to remove his scarf, because he thought he was com- 
promising his official dignity by fraternizing too freely with the 
crowd. Mouchet did so.^*'- 

Battalions of national guards were ranged along the fagade of 
the Tuileries, forming a military front, and the crowd passed be- 
fore them. The march was peaceable and orderly and the people 
were joyous. There were some cries of "Long live the nation," 
" Down with the veto," some gross expressions and some menaces 
as they passed under the king's window. These menaces did not, 
however, represent the spirit of the crowd, but were uttered by 

Goupilleau, a deputy, who crossed the Carrousel says there were guards 
and cannon there. " Lettre de Ph-Ch-Ai Goupilleau." 

^'^'' See map, Brette, Histoire des edifices ou ont siege les assembles, 159; 
also Roederer, Chronique de cinquante jours, 38-40. 

"^ See map as above and Roederer, 40; " Rapport du chef de la deuxieme 
legion" [Aclocq.] 

"^ " Declaration du sieur Desmousseaux ;" " Proces-verbal dresse par M. 
Mouchet." Mouchet played a very active role on the 20th of June accord- 
ing to many witnesses. He was popular and could influence the crowd. 
He is described as " small, brown and bandy-legged," " Declaration de 
Turot," " Declaration de Mussery." After the loth of August, when he 
played a role at the Hotel de Ville, he disappears from history. He was 
a contractor and captain of grenadiers. See U almanack royal de 1792. 

282 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/q2 87 

individuals who could be easily counted. ^"^ One little incident 
disturbed the march for a moment. A street vender selling tri- 
colored bands with the word constitution upon them dropped them 
and for a minute it was thought they were thrown from the 
window of the chateau. Through the efforts of Patris, a munic- 
ipal officer, the goods were restored to the owner and the agita- 
tion subsided."* As the procession passed before the battalions, 
ranged on the terrace, some persons requested the guard to 
remove their bayonets. Several did so and others refused, all 
probably acting according to their sympathies. ^"^^ 

Seeing the cortege passing out by the gate of the Pont Royal 
to the quay beyond, it was believed, both in the chateau and by 
the spectators outside, that the crowd would disperse and go to 
their homes. So apparent did this seem that some of the 
municipal officers left the scence. Desmousseaux went home and 
Cousin went to the Academy of Sciences to which he belonged. 
Champion took Borie and Leroux home with him to dinner.^^^ 

But the crowd instead of continuing its march along the quay 
of the Louvre stopped when it reached the gate of the Louvre, 
called also the gate of the Carrousel. On each side of this large 
gate there was a small gate. These were known as the new gates 
and the one on the side of the chateau was called the Porte 



"'"Declaration du chef de la sixieme legion" [De La Chesnaye;] 
" Proces-verbal dresse par M. Borie;" " Proces-verbal dresse par M. 
Hii;" "Proces-verbal dresse par M. Patris;" "Declaration de J. J. 
Leroux." Leroux, upon whose account alone Ternaux bases his statement, 
says the cries were, " Long live the sans-culottes ", " Down with the King ", 
" Down with the Queen " and that there were heard the greatest insults, 
menacing talk and frightful threats but he is not supported in this state- 
ment by any other witness. Yet in addition to this he says that the great 
mass of the crowd was peaceable and had no bad intentions. Leroux was 
one of the municipal officers who were not summoned to the mayor's 
office early enough to vote on the municipal decree of the morning and 
was not one of the men that Petion had officially sent to the Tuileries. 
His attitude is not sympathetic toward the crowd. 

m « Proces-verbal dresse par Patris ;" " Proces-verbal dresse par Hii." 

165 « Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet." 

"' " Declaration du sieur Desmousseaux ;" " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Champion ;" " Proces-verbal dresse par Borie ; " " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Leroux." 

283 



88 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Marigny. All three faced the river and opened on the Place du 
Carrousel. These were guarded by detachments of the battalions 
Petits-Peres and Petit Saint-Antoine under command of Perre 
and Mussery with orders to prevent armed citizens from enter- 
ing.^*'^ The guard at first resisted the crowd which tried to enter 
the gates. But when two municipal officers — the one (Mouchet) 
" little, brown and bandy-legged " — presented themselves at the 
head of a group at the Porte Marigny/*'^ the guard allowed the 
column to enter. Mouchet insisted that they meant only to cross 
the Carrousel."^ When this group had passed, the guards again 
defended the entrance against the crowd. Soon Hu and Patris, 
two municipal officers who had been ordered to the gate of the 
Louvre by a superior officer, arrived. They had been told there 
was some trouble in the attempted execution of an order. When 
they asked him what the order was, he replied, " Allow all per- 
sons armed, in whatever manner, to enter, but do not admit any 
unarmed." This seemed an unreasonable order and directly 
opposed to that which the national guards had received, but the 
officers executed it and then all entered, armed and unarmed 
alike, rushing in like a torrent in spite of the national guards.^'** 
At the beginning of the march through the assembly, Saint- 
Prix, commandant of the battalion Val-de-Grace, who we saw 
was forced to march with the citizens when they set out from the 



^"^ Lagarde, " Rapport de revenement " etc. ; " Declaration de Perre." 

"^ " Proces-verbal diesse par Mouchet." 

"""Declarations regus par le juge de la paix de la section du Roi de 
Sicile," signed by Turot, Mussery and five of Mussery's subordinates. 
These men all speak of the physical infirmity of Mouchet and of his being 
so small that his scarf dragged in the dust. Lagard, Adj. Gen. of the 
4" legion says that he was small with a spiritless, thin face. " Rapport 
de I'evenement." 

"* Same as above. Also " Declaration de Perre " ; " Declaration du 
sieur Desmousseaux " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Patris ; " " Proces-verbal 
dresse par Hii;" "Rapport du chef de quatrieme legion" [Mandat] ; 
Roederer in a report to the department read in the assembly, July 6, 
1792, says that the accusation that two municipal officers gave the order 
to admit all armed citizens is absurd and contradicted by the facts, His- 
toire parhmentaire, XV, 424. But Hu and Patris themselves say they 
received such an order and executed it. 

284 



The Uprising of June 20, i'j<^2 89 

faubourg Saint-Marcel, gave the order to the captain of can- 
noneers to go with his two cannon and his artillerymen to the 
Place du Carrousel, which was no part of the royal courts, and 
from there join the procession upon the quay after it had passed 
out of the Tuileries garden. They had been admitted without 
resistance into the Carrousel.^'^ Alexandre had sent his cannon 
to the same place also, to await in front of the Hotel de Longue- 
ville the march of the crowd through the assembly.^'^^ Perhaps 
the absence of these cannon induced the officers to give the un- 
usual order to allow all armed persons to enter the Carrousel, to 
which reference has been made. 

The Carrousel was soon filled, it being a small place in 1792, 
and much encumbered with buildings. It bordered on the courts 
which extended the entire length of the rear of the chateau. 
There were three of these courts, separated by walls seven or 
eight feet high. The one in the middle was called the Cour 
Royale, that on the side of the river the Cour des Princes and 
that on the side of the rue Saint-Honore the Cour des Suisses.^'^ 
Sentinels were stationed in the watch towers of the Royal gate 
about noon, with orders to let no one enter except by card and to 
allow no crowd to gather before the gate. About an hour later the 
order was changed to allow no one to enter with or without cards. 
At once, three municipal officers presented themselves at the gate 
asking admission. The guards refused, but immediately some one 
from the chateau let them in.^'^^ The crowd seemed confused, 
but peaceable and showed no signs of entering the chateau. 
They had crossed the Carrousel to the rue Saint-Nicaise as if to 
go out by the rue Saint-Honore. Colonel Rulhiere who had been 
stationel with two squadrons of gendarmerie in front of the 

^'^ " Rapport de Saint-Prix " ; " Declaration de LaChesneye." Oelsner 
in Revue historique, LXXXVII, 81. 

"^ " Rapport d' Alexandre." The reports of Saint-Prix and Alexandre 
indicate that the Hotel de Longueville was a general rendezvous for 
artillery. See also " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet." 

"* See map in Brette, 159; also, Berty, Topographie historique du vieux 
Paris, I, 280, and large map at end of volume. 

"* " Rapport de Pierre Moiteaux " ; " Rapport de Jean Foret " ; " Declar- 
ation de Bron," Swiss guard at the Royal gate. 

285 



90 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Tuileries facing the Hotel de Longueville, believing that the 
danger was passed, dismounted and entered the Cour Royale, 
where he remained a few minutes talking with another officer.^^^ 
Suddenly the crowd stopped, uttered confused cries and began a 
movement toward the Cour Royale, at about one-thirty. A 
group of forty people presented itself at the gate of this court 
demanding entrance to the chateau. It was opposed by the 
guards. According to Marotte, a guard on horseback, they said, 
''We wish to enter and we will enter; we mean no harm to the 
king and no one shall prevent us from going to him.""® The 
guards resisted and the group retired, some making menacing 
movements with guns or pikes. Soon another group presented 
itself, but the guards closed the gate.^^" 

About three o'clock, the chief of the second legion, Aclocq, who 
was in the Cour Royale, asked the municipal officers, Mouchet, 
Boucher-Saint-Sauveur and Boucher-Rene, who had just returned 
from their audience with the king and were also in the Cour 
Royale, to request the citizens in the Carrousel to delegate twenty 
persons, unarmed, to present the petition to the king. He 
assured them that they would be well received and that he would 
lead them. The officers stepped to the grating and addressed the 
crowd. They urged them not to enter the king's palace armed 
and said that the court was a part of the king's dwelling. They 
said the king would receive their petition in the form prescribed 
by law. Let them send twenty unarmed petitioners to enter 
alone. The petitioners entered and the gate was closed.^'^ 

"^ Rulhiere, " Evenements de la journee du 20 juin, 1792." 

"'"Rapport de Louis Marotte." 

"^"Rapport de Pierre Moiteaux;" "Rapport de Jean Foret;" "Rapport 
de Louis Marotte." 

^™ " Rapport du chef de la deuxieme legion " [Aclocq] ; Rulhiere, 
"Evenements de la journee du 20 juin, 1792"; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Mouchet " ; " Rapport de Pinon " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Boucher- 
Rene " ; " Rapport de Lassus " ; the evidence is not clear here. Lassus 
who was guarding the gate says about thirty people entered and his 
troops closed the gate. Boucher-Rene says Saint-Sauveur closed the 
gate but says nothing of the deputation entering. Aclocq says he led the 
petitioners to the king. Pinon says Aclocq and two municipal officers were 
at the door when it was opened and a group entered. 

286 



The Uprising of June 20, 12^2 91 

As the gate closed, Boucher-Rene says he was pushed inside 
and separated from his colleagues. Mouchet outside now mingled 
with the crowd. He heard cries and noticed a commotion at the 
side of the Hotel d'Elbeuf. It was reported that cannon were 
pointed at the people. Mouchet tells us that he rushed to the 
place and assured the people that this was a false alarm. He 
said the cannoneers were incapable of such a hostile act and that 
he had heard them express very patriotic sentiments and that they 
were devoted to the cause of the people. He said he would 
guarantee upon his life that the report was false. Thus the 
people were reassured. ^^^ But there were cannon at the door of 
the chateau and also at the Hotel de Longueville opposite and 
there were chests of ammunition on the Carrousel. ^^° 

Romainvilliers seems to have remained wholly inactive during 
all this movement. His inactivity is attested by all his subordi- 
nates. He was on the terrace, in the Carrousel, or wherever the 
crowd was. The chiefs of the legions, Aclocq, Mandat and Pinon 
and Vanot, commandant of the battalion Saint-Opportune, either 
could not find him or, if they found him, could get no orders 
from him. Nor could the commandant at the Tuileries get 
orders.^®^ These men, however, showed great activity in 'pre- 
venting entrance to the chateau and so did some of their sub- 
ordinates, who were also unable to get orders from the com- 
mandant. All were equally powerless to enforce their own orders. 
When Lassus, a captain of gendarmerie, asked his colonel, 
Rulhiere, for orders, he replied, " I have no orders, but I believe 
that the troops are here to support the national guard." Carle, 
a lieutenant colonel, says he asked Romainvilliers what he should 
do with his two hundred men. The commandant replied, " It 
is necessary to take away their bayonets." Carle retorted, " Why 
do you not order me to give up my sword and my clothes ? " and 

^^° " Proces-verbal dresse par Boucher-Rene ; " " Rapport de Lagarde " ; 
" Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet." 

''""Rapport deM. Lassus"; Poullenot to Petion, June 23, 1792; "Rapport 
de Lagarde " ; " Declaration de Mussery " ; Oelsner in Revue historique, 
No. 87, p. 81. 

"' " Rapport de Aclocq " ; " Rapport de Pinon " ; " Rapport de Mandat " ; 
" Proces-verbal de Wittinghof," Ternaux, I, 404. 

287 



92 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

the commandant said, " Take what I say only as an opinion."^^^ 
Romainvilliers justified himself afterward by saying that the 
mayor having permitted, and the king not having refused a request 
for twenty unarmed petitioners to enter the chateau and he having 
received this assurance from six municipal ofificers in the garden, 
he did not think he ought to oppose their escorts. ^^^ 

Besides national guards, there were also some regular troops 
on the Carrousel at this time. These had been ordered by the 
commandant of war to the Place Vendome in the morning to be 
reviewed. About eleven o'clock two detachments were led by 
Wittinghof, commandant at the Tuileries, to the Carrousel.^^* 

Within the court there was anxiety among some of the national 
guards and when the royal gate was menaced there was a cry, 
" To arms," and the troops formed in line.^^^ 

This sudden movement toward the chateau seems to have been 
caused by the actions of its leaders. Saint-Prix, on setting out 
from the assembly where the battalion Val-de-Grace had taken 
him by force, attem.pted to rally his men and to take back from 
the Carrousel the cannon which were ranged along the Hotel de 
Longueville. His cannoneers refused to obey his order. Leclerc, 
the second in command, repeated the order. Again they refused. 
The battalion dragged its chief before the Carrousel, and took a 
position near the cannon. Saint-Prix tried to calm them. He 
gave orders to the cannoneer to take the pieces in front of the 
column and march back to the Gobelins. He refused, crying, 
" We will not go away, we have not come here for nothing, the 

^^^ " Rapport de Lagarde " ; " Rapport de Saint-Prix " ; Carle, " Evene- 
ments de la 20 juin, 1792"; "Rapport de Lassus." 

^' " Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers " ; Montmorin writing to La 
Marck, June 21, {C orresp ondance , Mirabeau et La Marck) says Romain- 
villiers was sold to a faction. There was a good deal of sentiment against 
Romainvilliers for his inactivity on this occasion. On June 28 the section 
of the Tuileries passed a decree asking the national assembly to dismiss 
him from service because he had forfeited the public confidence. The 
decree is found in Archives nationales, F"4S90. 

^*" Rapport de Lassus"; Rulhiere, " Evenements de la journee de 20 
juin, 1792." 

186 <j Declaration de Guibout " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, JZ- 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 93 

Carrousel is forced, the chateau must be too . . . ," and, pointing 
to the chateau, he cried " Come with me, cannoneers, straight to 
the enemy," and they planted the cannon in front of the Royal 
gate.^«« 

With this movement the crowd massed itself against the Royal 
gate. The agitation became extreme and there seemed nothing to 
do but to fire the cannon, when some one from within called, 
" Do not fire, we will open ! " Immediately some one raised the 
iron bolt that fastened the two parts of the double gate together, 
the gate swung open and the crowd — citizens, national guards, 
and gendarmes — precipitated itself madly into the Cour Royale. 
It was a torrent impossible to check.^^^ A spectator testified that 
having once mingled with the crowd he was carried on into the 
court in spite of himself.^^^ 

There remained still another means of checking the crowd, but 
again there was a refusal to obey orders. At the opposite end 
of the court, under the vault leading to the grand stairway, there 
was another gate. The chiefs of the legion, Aclocq, Mandat and 
Pinon and Vanot, commandant in chief of the first battalion of 
the fourth legion, requested the guards and the cannoneers to 



**°" Rapport de Saint-Prix"; "Rapport de Lassus." 

"^ It is not clear, from the evidence, who opened the gate or who gave 
the order to open it. No one seems to be wiUing to accept the responsibil- 
ity of the act. Many witnesses outside simply say the gate was opened. 
" Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet"; Carle, " Evenements du 20 juin, 
1792"; Rulhiere, "Evenements de la journee du 20 juin"; "Rapport que 
fait M. de Romainvilliers." Lassus, " Rapport de Lassus," also outside, 
says it was opened by guards and Wittinghof, " Declaration de Witting- 
hof," (Ternaux, I, 404), outside, says Hu and Patris ordered it opened. 
This Patris emphatically denies. See " Proces-verbal dresse par Patris." 
We have but two witnesses inside, Bron, a Swiss guard, and Boucher- 
Rene, municipal officer. Bron says two municipal officers opened it, 
Boucher-Rene says cannoneers raised the bolt, and Roederer in his report 
to the department in July says a grenadier raised it. It is thus seen that 
there is no agreement among the witnesses. According to Laporte, intend- 
ant of the civil list, who made inquiry of all the Swiss guards, the Royal 
gate was the only one forced, the gate of the Princes and of the Swiss 
not being entered. Laporte to Terrier, June 27, 1792. 

'^^ Oelsner, Revue histonque, LXXXVII, 81. 

289 



94 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

close it. They were insulted and ill treated. Pinon cried, "Are 
you sure that there will not be some one in the crowd capable 
of attacking the king?" But the cannoneers answered, "It is 
better that one man should be killed than we."^^^ The adjutant 
general of the fourth legion, Lagarde, called to his grenadiers at 
the windows of the hall of guards, and cried, " To arms ! " but 
they refused to obey and passed out of the building by another 
door.^9*' 

The crowd advanced with such violence that the cannon of 
Val-de-Grace was carried on into the chateau and up the stairs 
as far as the hall of the Swiss, but here it was caught in the door- 
way and obstructed the passage. The crowd became impatient and 
furious when municipal officers (Boucher-Rene and Mouchet) 
reproaching the cannoneers for their zeal, ordered that the frame 
be cut away and the cannon was carried back to the foot of the 
stairs, where it remained till the chateau was evacuated. Boucher- 
Rene says he told the people that their violence would undo all 
the effect of their petition to the king.^^^ There was no resistance 
now against the crowd, not a man for defense, not a national 
guard at his post, not a door barricaded or locked. The gend- 
armes in the court remained quiet spectators of the invasion and 
after the crowd had entered the chateau, the gendarmes in the 
Carrousel raised their hats on their swords crying, " Vive la 
nation ! "^^^ 

The crowd pushed through two apartments and to the door of 
the third called the (£il-de-ba:uf. Aclocq, chief of the second legion 
of national guards, says that on seeing the situation he rushed 
to the king's chamber by the stairway of the Cour des Princes, 
at the same time asking Boivins, adjutant general of the fourth 

^'' " Rapport de Pinon." 

^^ Lagarde, " Rapport de I'evenement." 

^°^ Saint-Prix, " Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bataillon du Val-de- 
Grace " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Boucher-Rene " ; " Proces-verbal 
dresse par Mouchet"; Proces-verbal dresse par Borie." 

"" Roederer, 45 ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Patris " ; Bourcet in Revolu- 
tion frangaise XVII, 73 ; " Deposition de Rougeville " ; Montmorin to La 
Marck June 21, 1792. Rougeville relates that at this moment he met 
Romainvilliers, pale and distracted, crying, " All is lost ! we are betrayed !" 

250 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 95 

legion, to send help to the apartments. He knocked and, giving 
his name, declared he wished to stay by the side of the king and 
save him. He was admitted.^^^ At the same time Bourcet who, 
by way of another stairway, had rushed to the king, reached his 
chamber with a few national guards. They found the king, the 
queen, and the prince royal, Madame Royale and Madame Eliza- 
beth.^^* Aclocq says he hastened to the king, seized him by the 
waist and insisted that it was necessary for him to present himself 
to the crowd. Then, grasping his majesty's hand, he swore to 
perish rather than see him insulted. The king at once con- 
sented.^^^ With Aclocq and Bourcet, he passed to his cabinet, on 
through his bed chamber and thence into the oeil-de-hceuj . He 
was accompanied by Madame Elizabeth, who heroically refused 
to leave her brother, and by his three ministers, Beaulieu, Lajard, 
and Terrier.^^® In the ceil-de-bceuf the king was joined by Marshal 
Mouchy, the gendarmes D'Hervilly and Canolle, Guinguerlot and 
Vinfrais, officers of gendarmerie, LaChesnaye, the chief of the 
sixth legion, and some volunteers of the national guard, Fontaine, 
Gosse, Bidaut, Lecrosnier and Guibout.^^'^ The guards all testify 
to the little protection that the king had. Aclocq took the king's 



"' " Rapport d' Aclocq." Aclocq is much praised by other witnesses for 
his devotion this day. Cf. Paroy, Memoires, 298. 

^** " Rapport d' Aclocq " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 72>- 

"^ " Rapport d' Aclocq " ; " Declaration de Fontaine " ; Paroy, Memoires, 
300. The statement that Aclocq told the king that it was necessary to 
present himself to the people is supported by Fontaine. The other evi- 
dence of demonstrative affection is Aclocq' s, supported by Paroy, a friend 
of the king and queen. In the Archives nationales (C 222, 160"^) is a 
letter from Bourcet to the king, dated July 9, 1792, recallng his devotion. 

^°*" Rapport d' Aclocq"; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 7i; 
" Declaration de Fontaine." Madame Elizabeth's presence by the side of 
the king is not mentioned by Bourcet, but it is by Aclocq and Fontaine. 
She is likewise mentioned in the " Declaration de Lecrosnier," in the 
" Declaration de Guingerlot," and in the " Deposition de Rougeville." 

^"^ " Rapport d' Aclocq " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 73 ; 
" Declaration de Guingerlot " ; " Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; " Declara- 
tion de Fontaine ; " " Declaration de Lecrosnier " ; " Declaration de 
Bidaut;" "Declaration de Gosse;" "Declaration de Guibout;" Report 
of Niquille and Gautier to the police in the Archives nationales, F^4387. 

291 



96 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

right arm and Bourcet his left, and remained with him throughout 
his ordeal."^ Meanwhile heavy blows fell upon the door from 
without and a panel was forced in. The king cried, " To me, 
four grenadiers of the national guard ! "^^^ and they rushed to his 
side. A grenadier said, " Sire, have no fear," and the king, heroic 
for the first time in his life, replied, " I have no fear ; put your 
hand upon my heart ; it is pure and quiet," and taking the hand of 
the grenadier, he put it upon his breast.^"" Gosse testifies that 
Madame Elizabeth, with tears in her eyes, begged the grenadiers 
to save the king.^"^ As the tumult outside the door increased, the 
guards and officers surrounding the king drew their swords for 
his defense, but Aclocq ordered them to sheath their weapons, 



"^ " Rapport d' Aclocq " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, y^. In 
the year 1816, two pamphlets appeared written by Joly and Drouet re- 
spectively, in which both say they were guards with the king on this 
occasion. Joly, Note historique sur la journee du 20 juin, 1792, says he 
was on the king's right. Drouet, Note sur les evenements de la journee du 
20 juin, 1792, says he held the king's right arm and that Joly was on the 
left. No other accounts mention these men and their claims contradict 
the contemporary evidence. 

^°' " Declaration de Gosse " ; " Declaration de Guingerlot." The exact 
words are from Gosse. The same wording is found in a letter written 
June 21, by a former member of the estates general who was present in 
the king's apartments. The letter is unsigned, quoted in Weber, MemoireSj 
II, 179-95. The incident is mentioned by Guingerlot. The four grena- 
diers, Lecrosnier, Gosse, Bidaut and Guibout, have left their declarations. 
Another grenadier who was with the king on this day was Tupin, as 
is seen by certificates of fidelity given him in July by Aclocq, Mandat 
and D'Hervilly stating that he did not leave the king's side on this occa- 
sion. Tupin used these certificates in asking the king for a position. 
See the certificates in Archives nationales, F''4390. 

200 « Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, 
XVII, 73 ; " Deposition de Rougeville " ; " Bulletin avec details sur ce qui 
s'est passe aux Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792," Klinckowstrom, II, 303. A 
pamphlet of the time, Recit exact et circonstancie de ce qui s'est passe au 
chateau des Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792, says this grenadier was Gosse, but 
Gosse does not mention the incident in his declaration. The pamphlet is 
anonymous, but is an extract from the Gazette de Paris by Durosoy. It 
states that it follows the notes of an eye-witness. 

201 « Declaration de Gosse." 

292 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 97 

assuring them that their zeal would only endanger the life of the 
king. They obeyed promptly .^°^ 

The door was ordered opened, the bolts being drawn by a Swiss 
guard, and twenty or thirty people rushed in.^°^ It is reported 
that one of the first who entered was armed with a sword blade 
fastened to a pole and that he tried to attack the king. Another 
carried a saber and a pistol.-^°* Aclocq states that he cried out, 
" Citizens, recognize your king, respect him ; the law commands 
you to do it. I will perish, we will all perish rather than allow 
the least harm to be done to him." Then he says, "At these 
words, uttered in a firm voice, the crowd stopped. "^"^ One of the 
grenadiers, M. Cannolle, cried out, " Long live the nation ! Long 
live the king ! " but no one answered.^*"' During this pause of a 
few minutes some one proposed to the king that he retire to a 
window recess where he could avoid the crowd and where he 
could be better seen by them. This he did at once and mounted 
a seat which he kept until the crowd passed out.-^°'^ Madame 

^°^ " Rapport d' Aclocq " ; " Declaration de Guingerlot " ; Bourcet in Rev- 
olution frangaise, XVII, 73 ; others say that the king ordered the sheath- 
ing of the weapons. Recti exact et circonsiancie de ce qui s'est passe au 
chateau des Tuileries, 20 juin^ 1792. This pamphlet claims to be based on 
the notes of an eye-witness who was at the side of the king. It was 
written after the 23d of June. 

^"^ " Declaration de Fontaine " ; " Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; " Rapport 
d'Aclocq." Paroy, who remained guard at the king's door all night after 
this invasion, states {Memoires, 303) that at daybreak he made a drawing 
of the room as it appeared at the time the king gave the order to open 
the door. The drawing has not been found. 

"^ " Declaration de Lecrosnier." 

"^ " Rapport d'Aclocq " ; " Bulletin avec details sur ce qui s'est passe 
aux Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792," Klinckowstrom, II, 303; Letter unsigned 
dated June 21, quoted in Weber, Memoires, II, 190. 

"" " Rapport d'Aclocq." Canolle is referred to as protecting the king in 
Le cri de la douleur, 15. 

'"^"Rapport d'Aclocq"; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 72; 
"Declaration de Gosse"; "Declaration de Lecrosnier"; "Declaration de 
Fontaine"; "Declaration de LaChesnaye"; LaChesnaye is the only one 
of these witnesses who says the king retired to the window recess before 
the doors were ordered opened. The others give the incident just after 
the doors were opened. 

293 



98 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Elizabeth remained with the king. When she was asked to retire 
she said, " I will not leave the king." Aclocq tells us that since 
the window recess in which the king sat was not large enough for 
both, he placed Madame Elizabeth in a window adjoining, with 
M. de Marsilly, but she was not able to remain long and went to 
join the queen. ^°^ Six guards placed themselves in front of the 
king to protect him from the pressure of the crowd. Four were 
grenadiers, one a cannoneer and one an officer of chasseurs. The 
devoted Marshal Mouchy, in spite of his age, would not leave his 
lord for a moment.^°^ 

The crowd, armed with guns, pikes, clubs and sabers, advanced 
and soon filled the hall. Louis XVI, calm, tried to speak, saying, 
" What do you wish ? I am your king. I have never turned aside 
from the constitution." One of the guards at his side testifies 
that the king waved his hat to the crowd crying, " Vive la 
nation! "^'^^ but his voice was drowned in cries of, "Down with 
the veto ! Recall the patriotic ministers ! "^" 

The hall was hterally filled with a restless sea of heads, arms, 
guns, pikes and swords. One of the guards standing beside the 
king says that the heart of a calf marked, " Heart of an aristo- 
crat," was carried aloft on the end of a fork and passed before 

^°*" Rapport d'Aclocq"; Aclocq is the only one of the guards who says 
that Madame Elizabeth was placed in a window recess, but Lecrosnier 
and Gosse speak of her accompanying the king to the oeil-de-hceuf. Guin- 
gerlot also says she would not leave the king. See " Declaration de 
Lecrosnier " ; " Declaration de Gosse " ; " Declaration de Guingerlot." 
Fontaine says she was led out of the hall before the doors were opened. 
Aclocq is the only guard who speaks of her after the doors were opened. 
His statement is borne out by " Bulletin avec details sur de qui s'est passe 
aux Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792," Klinckowstrom, II, 303. Madame Tour- 
zelle, who was with the queen, says Madame Elizabeth soon came back. 
See her Recit of June 22. 

^°' " Rapport d'Aclocq " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 72 ; 
" Declaration de Guingerlot." Among these guards were Fontaine, Le- 
crosnier, Gosse, Bidaut and Guibout. See their declarations. 

"" " Declaration de Fontaine " ; " Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; " Proces- 
verbal dresse par Patris " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 72- 
The exact wording is that of Fontaine. 

""/&frf., XVII, 72,; "Declaration de Guibout." 

294 



The Uprising of June 20, lygs 99 

the eyes of the king.-^^^ As the crowd surged in, curious to see 
royalty at home, asking, " Where are they? Where is he? Where 
is she?" menaces and imprecations were heard. ^^^ It was noted 
by the guards that one man in the crowd, dressed in a green waist- 
coat, was one of the executioners of 1789.^^^ Another guard 
recognized Soudin, one of the besiegers of the Bastille, armed with 
gun and bayonet, advancing toward the king with threatening 
words and manner.-^^ Still another guard described an individual 
about thirty-six years old, poorly dressed, saber in hand, making 
great efforts to reach the king and using the most abusive lan- 
guage.^^*' A handsome young national guard, whom the king 
recognized as having been a member of his body guard, addressed 
horrible insults to himr^^ All these were forced back by the 
volunteer grenadiers who formed a guard before the king.^^^ 

In the midst of this tumult the king remained remarkably tran- 
quil, speaking calmly to each one who addressed him and protest- 
ing his loyalty to the constitution. It was believed by many of 
the witnesses that his sang-froid prevented greater violence.-^^^ 

^ " Declaration de Guibout " ; J. J. Leroux in his declaration says this 
emblem was carried along the terrace and was marked, " The heart of 
M. Veto." See also support for both of these statements in " Rapport fait 
au conseil du department par MM. Gamier, Leveillard et Demantort." 

^^ " Declaration de Guingerlot " ; " Deposition de Rougeville." 

^^* " Declaration de Guibout " ; " Declaration de Guingerlot." 

"^ " Declaration de Guibout." Guibout states that Soudin had been driven 
from the battahon Saint-Opportune; that he had, at the beginning of the 
revolution, taken the heads of Berthier and Foulon at the morgue, washed 
them in a pail of water and given them to the people to carry on pikes. 

^*® " Declaration de Lecrosnier." 

^"Letter of Azema, deputy of L'Aude to the legislative assembly 
written at eleven o'clock p. m. June 20, 1792. {Revolution frangaise, 
XXVII, 172). 

^^This is stated by the guards around the king and is also repeated by 
the commissioners of the department in their report on the suspension 
of Petion. " Rapport fait au conseil du departement par MM. Gamier, 
Leveillard et Demantort." 

^^ Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 76; " Extrait d'une lettre ecrite 
de Paris en datte du 21 juin a Dupin et fils a Montpellier," in Revue his- 
torique de la revolution frangaise, II., 597; Oelsner in Revue historique, 
LXXXVII, 80; Correspondance secrete inedite sur Louis XVI, Marie 

295 



100 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

He also showed anxiety for his family, making inquiries now and 
then for the queen and his children.^^'' 

An incident is described here which has 'been often repeated 
by writers since that time, but for which our only evidence is the 
report of the commission appointed by the council of the depart- 
ment to investigate the events of the day. They do not state their 
authority. They say that after the tumult in the ail-de-boeuf had 
lasted an hour and none of the officers could make themselves 
heard, Legendre advanced toward the monarch and the noise 
ceased. " Monsieur," he began, pausing as the king showed sur- 
prise, "Yes, monsieur, hear us. You must hear us. You are a 
villain. You have always deceived us, you deceive us still. But 
take care! Your measure is full and people are weary of being 
your plaything." Then he read a petition full of menaces and 
reproaches, declaring that it expressed the wish of the sovereign 
people of whom he was the orator. The king remained calm, 
answering, " I will do what the constitution and the decrees have 
commanded me."^^^ Again cries arose, more people constantly 
came in and the press became extreme. 



Antoinette, la cour et la ville, 1777-1792, II, 604; A Residence in France 
during the Years 1792, 1793, 1794, i795, 15 ; Lettre de Goupilleau, depute 
de la Vendee," June 20, 11 p. m.; Azema in Revolution frangaise, XXVII, 
174; Bulletin avec details sur ce qui s'est passe aux Tuilleries le 20 juin, 
1792, Klinckowstrom, II, 303; Ibid., 11, 307. 

"" Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 74; Letter of J. B. Mosneron 
to Louis XVIII, May 19, 1814, in Revue d'histoire moderne et contempo- 
raine, XI, 115. Mosneron was a deputy and was with the king. 

"^ " Rapport fait au conseil du departement par MM. Garnier, Leveillard 
et Demantort, commissioners au sujet des evenements du 20 juin, 1792." 
This report was made before July 6, 1792, and recommended the suspen- 
sion of Petion and Manuel and three municipal officers. Roederer gives 
the same incident, reproducing it from the report of the committee without 
citing his source. The incident is not found in any depositions, reports 
or proces-verbaux. Legendre is named by Lareynie in his declaration 
as encouraging Santerre and by the Nouvelle correspondance politique, 
June 22, XII, 3, as being near the king with his friends. The Abbe 
Lamar, " Les loisiers d'un cure deplace," in Pieces sur la revolution, 
journees fameuses. III, 267, says he was present and calls him a Jacobin 
and a deputy. He was a member of the Jacobin club but was not a 

296 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 loi 

The first municipal officer who came to the king's rehef was 
Mouchet, wearing his scarf as a badge of office. Raised on the 
shoulders of two citizens, he approached the window in which the 
king sat. With voice and gesture he strove to gain silence, but 
his efforts were useless. He could make himself heard only by 
those near by. The king tried several times to speak, but his 
voice was lost in the tumult. ^-^ This situation lasted more than an 
hour, during which time the greatest confusion reigned. Shouts 
were sent up from the crowd and cries of " Down with the veto ! " 
" Recall the ministers ! " continued, while officers tried vainly to 
make themselves heard.^^^ During this period of uproar a number 
of incidents can be clearly distinguished which show the temper 
of the crowd. 

A man carrying a red cap on the end of a pole moved toward 
the king. Several people inclined the pole in his direction. 
Mouchet took the cap and passed it on to the king who reached out 
for it, took it and put it on his head. At this strange spectacle, 
the crowd burst into applause, stamping, clapping their hands and 
crying, " Bravo ! " " Long live the nation ! " " Long live liberty ! " 



deputy. An unsigned letter written June 21 and quoted in Weber, 
(Memoires, II, 179) states that Legendre offered the king the red cap. 
The same statement is found in the Correspondence politique of June 
23, LXIII, 2, which says Legendre was the national guard who put the 
red hat on the king. It is clear from all this evidence that Legendre 
was present, but it is not clear what he did. He evidently did not play 
a prominent part. It is stated ("Extrait d'une lettre ecrite de Paris en 
datte du 21 juin a Dupin et fils a Montpellier ") that the orator of the 
people said, " Sire, do you wish to be our king or not? If you do, enforce 
the constitution, the execution of which you alone have hindered. If 
you do not, you will be allowed to leave [France]. We will give you 
forty thousand men to accompany you to the frontiers. We will guaran- 
tee you your life until you leave the realm." This is not what Legendre 
is reported to have said. It may refer to the speech that the " blond 
young man" so often referred to, made to the king in Petion's presence. 
The sentiment is similar. See below. 

222 (1 Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 73 ; " Declaration de 
Gosse " ; " Declaration de Fontaine." 

^^'"Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet"; Bourcet in Revolution fran- 
gaise, XVII, 73 ; " Declaration de Guibout." 

297 



102 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

and even, " Long live the king ! "-^^ A guard who stood beside 
Louis XVI says that threats were uttered against the king should 
he refuse to put the liberty cap on and threats of returning daily 
if he did not sign the decrees. But a municipal officer who was 
also present states that he did not think, judging from the disposi- 
tion of the crowd, that if the king had not reached for the hat or 
been impressed with the idea of putting it on, that it would have 
been forced upon him.^-^^ Mouchet says that a few minutes after 
this incident the king pointed out to him a woman who held 
a sword encircled with jflowers and surmounted with ribbons. 
Mouchet signaled to her and she passed it on. He handed it to the 
king, who took it and brandished it amid enthusiastic cries of 
" Long live the nation ! " The king repeated this cry. Then fol- 
lowed more cries for the recall of the veto and of the three 
ministers. ^^^ The king made several attempts to speak, assuring 
the crowd that he had sworn to maintain the constitution and 
that he was sincerely attached to it.^'^'^ 

The crowd was still pressing in, cries succeeded cries, and the 
heat was extreme. Insulting language and abusive names were 
hurled at the king and threats were made to return daily, if he 
did not recall the veto.^-^ The guards were continually forcing 
back individuals who were trying to reach the king. A pock- 
marked individual, wearing a brown frock coat, armed with pistol 
and saber, kept crying, " Down with the veto ! To the devil 
with the veto ! " Another man dressed as a national guard, wear- 
ing yellow epaulets, and armed with a gun, menaced all who 

"* " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris " ; " Declaration de Fontaine " ; " Declaration de Guibout " ; " Decla- 
ration de Bidaut " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, yz- It is inter- 
esting to note in this connection that Joly and Drouet, guards with the 
king, but who wrote their accounts twenty-five years later, both claim the 
honor of having taken the red hat from the pole and handing it to the king. 
Drouet, Note sur les evenements de la journee du 20 juin, i/Q^; Joly, 
Note historique sur la journee du 20 juin, 1792. 

^^^ " Declaration de Bidaut " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Patris." 

226 « Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet." 

"^ Ihid.; "Proces-verbal dresse par Patris." 

^^Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXVII, 80; "Declaration de Bidaut" 

298 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 103 

opposed him and uttered insulting words.^^® A young man in a 
red waistcoat constantly shouted abusive words at the king, re- 
proaching him bitterly for his conduct.^^" A market porter, armed 
with a saber, during an hour made desperate efforts to reach 
the side of the king, but was forced back by the grenadiers.^^^ 
Mouchet, who saw that this situation was not leading to anything, 
says he proposed to the king that he appear upon the terrace of 
his apartment and speak to the people where he might be heard, 
but those around him opposed this. However, an order was given 
to open the gallery and so evacuate the apartment.^^^ 

In the halls and on the stairway the crowd became more and 
more congested. Municipal officers urged the people to go no 
farther, but to retire. Their efforts had no effect.-^^^ 

Presently Santerre appeared in the crowd and cries of " Down 
with the veto ! Recall the ministers ! Sanction the decrees ! " 
greeted him from every side. He tried to restore quiet.^^* A dis- 
interested spectator, who stood near him, says Santerre cried out, 
" What the devil are you all talking at once for ? That is not the 
way to be heard. We are not going to leave here. Don't you hear 
that the king wishes to speak? "^^^ He then told the king to have 
no fear and said he would be responsible for the royal family .■2^*' 
Oelsner says that his sans-culotte eloquence made an impression 
and there was a moment's silence in which the king spoke in a 
firm voice. " I have sworn to maintain the constitution," he said, 
" I swear now faithfully to hold myself thereto." But the crowd 



^"^ Ibid. 

='» Oelsner, loc. cit., LXXXVII, 80. 

^'* " Declaration de Bidaut " ; " Declaration de Lecrosnier." 

^^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet." 

233 a Proces-verbal dresse par Boucher-Rene " ; " Proces-verbal dresse 
par Borie." 

^^* " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; Oelsner in Revue historique, 
LXXXVII, 80. 

=^= Ibid. 

^* The statement that Santerre gave this assurance to the king is made 
by Paroy (Memoires, 301) and by Madame Tourzelle ("Recit de ce qui 
s'est passe a la journee du 20 juin") in Archives nationales, C 222, I6o"^ 
These persons both lived at the Tuileries, so their information must have 
come from the royal family. 

299 



104 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

only mocked him with, " You have often made promises and failed 
us ; we no longer believe you ; we want no false oaths. Withdraw 
the veto ! Give us back the patriotic ministers ! "^^'^ 

A national guard, to whom a bottle of wine and a glass had 
been passed, seeing the king's discomfort, offered him a drink. 
" Sire," he said, " you must be thirsty. . . . Permit me to offer 
you something. Fear nothing, I am an honest man and you may 
drink without fear — I will drink first, if you will allow me." The 
king offered to drink from the same glass. Amidst applause of 
the crowd, the king cried, " People of Paris, I drink to your health 
and to that of the French nation ! "^^^ But someone cried out, " It 
is not enough that he fills himself at the table, he must also fill 
himself here ! " It was said that under other conditions, it would 
have been considered greatly to the king's credit to have drunk 
from the same glass that a man of the people drank from, but 
that now the sans-culottes considered such condescension as a 
hypocritical act and contemptible flattery .^^^ 

The temper of the crowd is plainly seen in an incident told by 
one of the municipal officers. On entering the chateau, he went 
to the apartment where the king was and saw a man held by the 
collar by five or six other persons who were going to put him out. 
On inquiring, he found that the man's offense was simply that he 
had cried, "Long live the king!"^*° 

""^ Oelsner, he. cit., LXXXVII, 80. 

^^ Lettre de Blanc-Gilli au departement des Bouches-du-Rhone ; Bourcet 
in Revolution frangaise, XVIl, 73; Oelsner, Zoc. ct^., LXXXVII, 80; Aulard, 
Societe des Jacobins, IV, 22, report made by an eye witness in the meet- 
ing of the Jacobin club on the evening of June 20. Oelsner says he did 
not see the king drink, but he saw the upturned bottle and heard the 
crowd say that he drank. The account given in the Jacobin Club was by 
the " blond young man ", who addressed the king while Petion was near. 
The incident is frequently mentioned by the newspapers and by later 
writers.. Recit general, June 24; Nouvelle correspondance politique, June 
22, XII, 3 ; Journal du peuple, June 25, No. 146, p. 581 ; Journal royalist, 
June 24, No. 5, p. 5; Correspondance secrete inedite sur Louis XVI, Marie 
Antoinette, la cour et la ville, 1777-1792, Letter of June 23, II, 604. 
Madame Tourzelle also relates it in her "Recit" of June 22. 

'^^ This is the observation of Oelsner. 

'^° " Proces-verbal dresse par Hu." 

300 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 105 

At the same time several members of the assembly, who had 
learned of the invasion of the Tuileries, appeared on the scene, 
though not in an official capacity. Since the assembly had not 
adopted Vergniaud's motion to send a permanent deputation of 
sixty members to protect the king, Vergniaud and Isnard, two 
of the most popular members of the Left, and Daverhoult and 
Blanc-Gilli, two members of the Right, upon their own respon- 
sibility entered the palace, forced their way through the crowd 
and came to the king's relief.^*^ Daverhoult reported to the 
assembly that he pushed the crowd aside and as he reached the 
king, shouted, " You shall approach the king only by passing over 
my dead body."^*- Isnard, raised on the shoulders of two guards, 
spoke to the crowd after silence had been obtained by ringing 
a bell.^*^ "Citizens," he cried, "I am Isnard the deputy. If 
what you ask is granted at once, it will be believed that it was 
gotten by force. In the name of the law, in the name of the 
national assembly, I ask you to respect the constituted authorities 
and retire. The national assembly will do justice. I will con- 
tribute to that end with all my might. You shall have satis- 
faction; I will answer for that with my head, but retire." This 
last phrase was repeated several times but no one retired. How- 
ever, at Isnard's words there was a lull in the tumult. Vergniaud 
then spoke, voicing the same sentiments, but with as little success 
as his colleague, and the tumult recommenced. " Down with the 
veto ! Recall the veto ! Recall the ministers ! " was heard again.^** 



^*^ Reports of Dumas, Isnard, Lasource, Turgan, Arbogast and Daver- 
hoult to the assembly, Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 331 ff. ; 
Journal des dehats et decrets, No. 268, p. 278 ff. ; Moniteur, XII, 718 ff. 

"^^"^ Journal des debats et decrets, No. 269, p. 295; Moniteur, XII, 723, 
reports that Daverhoult said one of his colleagues said this. 

^"Nearly all sources speak of the use of the bell to obtain silence. 
Most say an usher rang it, but Bourcet (Revolution frangaise, XVII, 77) 
says the king rang it and a report of the event given in the Jacobin Club 
on the evening of June 20 by the young man who addressed the king in 
Petion's presence says the king made use of the bell several times. 
Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, IV, 22. 

^" " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris"; "Declaration de Fontaine"; "Declaration de Gosse"; Oelsner, 
loc. cit.j LXXXVII, 80; Lettre de Ph-Ch-Ai Goupilleau a la societe popu- 

301 



io6 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Goupilleau, a Jacobin member of the assembly, relates an 
altercation that he had at this point with several members of the 
Right. These gentlemen complained of the people for reducing 
the king to such a humiliating situation. Goupilleau answered 
that the fault lay with the evil councillors of the king, who had 
prevented him from hearing the truth and that they had been 
supported by the Right. Whereupon the members from the 
Right said, " Only Jacobins speak thus," and Goupilleau retorted 
that he was proud to be a Jacobin and placed his Jacobin card in 
his buttonhole.^^^ 

We have seen that the assembly adjourned immediately after 
the procession had left the hall at about half past three o'clock. 
The members, anxious about the situation, gradually returned 
to the hall and at about five o'clock a quorum had assembled and 
they were called to order.-'*® It was reported by a member that 
the life of the king was in danger. " I ask," he cried, " that the 
assembly go in a body to save him."^*'^ Hebert requested that a 
deputation of twenty-four members be sent at once to the king, 
but this motion provoked murmurs from one side."*^ Then 



laire de Saint-Vincent de Nantes; Isnard's exact words are taken from 
Fontaine, but in his report to the assembly the same evening, Isnard re- 
peated the substance of Fontaine's words as the address he made to the 
crowd. Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 338; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 283; Moniteur, XII, y22. The cries of the crowd are 
reported in Gosse, Fontaine and Oelsner. Isnard says that after his speech 
the crowd became more calm. 

^^^ Letter of Goupilleau as above. 

'*^ Journal des debats et decrets, No. 268, p. 27, says the meeting was 
called to order by Guyton-Morveau and that Girardin took the chair a 
little later. Proces-verbal de I'assemblee nationale also states that M. 
Guyton, as ex-president, was in the chair. The Journal de I'assemblee 
nationale (XXI, ,329), and the Moniteur (XII, 718), speak only of Gi- 
rardin occupying the chair. Chronique du mois, June 20, 1792, also gives 
the hour as five o'clock. 

"^ Journal des debats et decrets gives the name of this member as 
Regnault-Beaucaron, as does also Annales patriotiques et litteraires de la 
France, CLXXIV, 763. The Moniteur and the Journal de I'assemblee 
nationale give no name. 

-^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 329; Annals patriotiques et 
litteraires de la France, No. CLXXIV, yGj,. 

302 



The Uprising of June 20, 1^0)2 107 

Thuriot said, " I am far from believing that the king can be in 
danger in the midst of the people, but if the assembly desires 
a deputation to be sent to him, I wiUingly consent to its nomina- 
tion." Whereupon Beugnot replied, " It is not, as M. Thuriot has 
said, the people who are with the king — these are brigands."^*^ 
After another angry retort by Thuriot, the assembly closed the 
discussion.^^** It now became a question of the size of the depu- 
tation. Some one asked that it be composed of sixty members, 
but it was pointed out that if sixty members were sent away 
there would not be a quorum left and Cambon said he thought the 
assembly should remain in permanent session. Thuriot, still 
burning with anger, demanded that any member who calumniated 
the people should be called to order, and Brunck cried out that 
only a factionist could see the people in these brigands. The 
assembly voted a deputation of twenty-four members, the presi- 
dent, M, Girardin, named them and they at once set out.-^^ 

Scarcely had the deputation left the assembly hall when 
Dumas, who had been at the Tuileries, entered and reported what 
he had seen. He asked to be heard upon a question which con- 
cerned the public peace, the honor of the national assembly and 
the safety of the hereditary representative of the French people. 
He said he believed it necessary to give some executive power 
to the deputies by which they might secure the liberty and safety 
of the king, adding, " We have seen the king in imminent danger." 
This brought forth murmurs and protests, Charlier crying, " The 
king is in the midst of the French people; he cannot be in any 
danger," and some one retorted, "The people of Paris are not 
the French people." Dumas, still trying to speak above all this 
tumult, demanded to be heard in silence. He continued amidst 



""^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 329; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 277; Annales patriotiques et litteraires de la France, 

CLXxiv, 763. 

^^ Reports do not agree on what Thuriot said. 

''^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 330; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 278; Annales patriotiques et litteraires de la France, 
CLXXIV, 763 ; 'Uoniteur, XII, 718. The Moniteur is very brief here, 
stating only the fact that the deputation was sent when the king was re- 
ported in danger. 

303 



io8 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

murmurs, " I have the floor ; I will be heard in silence," but 
Chabot cried out, " M. Dumas has calumniated the people," and 
the noise continued. Dumas, however, persisted, saying, " These 
are not the people who surround the king; they are furious, mis- 
guided men," and called to witness Isnard and Vergniaud and 
others who had tried to speak to the crowd. He proposed that 
the assembly give orders to the commandant of the national 
guard to reestablish order in the chateau and secure the safety of 
the king. [Murmurs.] He said it was manifest to him and to 
those with him that no orders were respected ; that the king was 
not in a state of liberty where he could give orders ; " He was 
surrounded, assailed, menaced, degraded by the emblem of a 
faction ; he had the red cap on his head." Here tumult followed, 
murmurs in the assembly and applause in the galleries, and voices 
cried, "The liberty cap is not degrading," "Call him to order!" 
" Send him to the abbey !" But Dumas continued to insist that 
the assembly should take necessary precautions to insure the 
efficacy of the measures that the deputies would have to execute. 
He thought the fact that the constituent assembly had charged 
itself with answering to the nation for the safety of the royal 
family on the 21st of June, 1791, would excuse this assembly for 
showing itself similarly affected by their dangers in the month of 
June, 1792. 

After several members had attempted to speak, Turgan-^^ got 
the floor. He reported what he had seen at the Tuileries reciting, 
amidst applause of the galleries, the incidents of the king in the 
window recess, the red cap, the attempts of Mouchet, Isnard, and 
Vergniaud to speak, and the cries for the sanction of the decrees 
and the recall of the patriotic ministers. He said that the deputies 
were treated with the respect due them; that having gone into 
the apartments adjoining those of the king, he had persuaded 
thirty thousand people to turn back. [Great applause in the 
galleries.] He said he was not opposed to action on the part of 



"^" This name is spelled Turgan in the Journal des dehats et decrets, 
No. 268, p. 280, Turgand in the Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, :i2)^, 
and Targan in the Moniteur, XII, 719. Turgan is given by Kuscinski, Les 
deputes d I'assemblee legislative de 1791, Paris, 1900. 

304 



The Uprising of June 20, 11^2 109 

the assembly, but it should act wisely. He thought the assembly 
should remain sitting until the king was at liberty and that it 
should constantly keep in communication with him through depu- 
tations sent to the chateau. Charlier asked that twenty-four more 
members be added to the deputation and Lacroix asked that all 
deliberations be suspended until the deputation returned. Ducos 
thereupon announced the arrival of the deputation and asked that 
no action be taken until its report had been heard. 

Immediately Granet de Toulon entered the hall and, as a member 
of the first deputation sent to the chateau, reported what he had 
seen and heard there. His deputation had arrived just after the 
appearance of the mayor and remained with the king until he 
withdrew to his apartments. At the close of his report, Lacroix 
proposed, as an amendment to Charlier's motion, that a new 
deputation be sent to the chateau every half hour so that the 
assembly might be constantly informed of the state of things at 
the Tuileries. This proposition was unanimously adopted and 
after some objections as to how the members should be named, 
the second deputation was sent to the king.-^^ 

Arbogast, one of the deputies who went to the chateau when 
the assembly adjourned at half past three o'clock, next reported 
what he had seen at the apartments of the king. He said that 
twenty-four deputies were not enough and proposed that another 
deputation of twelve members be sent to remain with the prince 
royal and the ladies of the court. This proposition was supported 
by members of the Right who said the assembly was responsible 
to the entire nation for the safety of the prince. This caused a 
tumult and on a vote the motion was rejected.^^* 



^^^In this account of the assembly the Journal des debats et decrets and 
the Journal de I'assemblee nationale are full and agree on the facts I have 
given. The Moniteur is less full, giving only the speeches of Dumas and 
Turgan (XII, 718). The Annales patriotiques et litteraires de la France 
gives also a brief account of the session. It mentions more incidents than 
the Moniteur and gives short reports of the speeches of Thuriot, Beugnot 
and Granet de Toulon (CLXXIV, 763)- 

'=* Here the Moniteur and Journal de I'assemblee nationale agree. The 
Journal des debats et decrets does not mention the women of the court. 

305 



no Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Lasource was angered at the suggestion that the king was in 
danger and stated that the fears for the king's personal safety 
were falsely founded ; that the people had been in full possession 
of the persons of both the king and the prince and had done them 
no violence ; and that the deputations were sent, not to show that 
the assembly feared for the king's safety, but to show its interest in 
him. He suggested that it was an insult to the French people 
to express fear for the personal safety of the royal family. His 
speech was often interrupted by applause and murmurs. 

Isnard now entered and gave an account of all that had 
occurred in the palace up to the time of the entrance of the first 
deputation. It is clear from the way in which the reports were 
received that the Left was unwilling to admit that the king was 
in danger or that he was being insulted. Any suggestions of the 
kind were received by them with murmurs and other marks of 
impatience.^^^ 

Meanwhile the crowd in and around the Tuileries increased 
constantly. It had grown much larger since it left the assembly, 
being swollen by onlooking men, women and children, all anxious 
to see what passed in the interior of the chateau.^^'' Among the 
throng in the garden of the Tuileries one observer noticed an 
individual attired in light blue with white embroidered waistcoat 
and curled and powdered hair. It was Manuel, the procureur de 

'^^^ Journal des debats et decrets, No. 268, 281 ff.; Journal de I'assemblee 
nationale, XXI, 335 £f. ; Moniteur, XII, 719. 

^°* Isnard in his report to the assembly, Journal de I'assemblee nationale, 
XXI, 237; Journal des debats et decrets, No. 268, p. 283; Moniteur, XII, 
719. Turgan, in the same meeting, reported that he turned thirty thousand 
people back on the stairway. Four different accounts written by eye wit- 
nesses but unsigned estimate the crowd in and around the Tuileries at 
twenty, thirty, forty and fifty thousand. Klinckowstrom, II, 307 ; " Extrait 
d'une lettre ecrite de Paris en datte du 21 juin a Dupin et fils a Mont- 
pellier," in Revue historique de la revolution frangaise, II, 597; Letter 
unsigned quoted in Weber, Memoires, II, 187; Klinckowstrom, II, 303. 
Inside the chateau the crowd is estimated by two witnesses at two thou- 
sand and seven or eight thousand. Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 
75, and Wittinghof in his declaration before the justice of the peace quoted 
in Ternaux, I, 404. 

306 



The Uprising of June 20, i^^s 11 1 

la commune. He passed an hour in the garden, but not in an 
official capacity. ^''^ 

•At about half past five o'clock, or a little earlier, when the 
invasion of the chateau had lasted about two hours, and after 
municipal officers and deputies from the assembly had tried in 
vain to restore order, the mayor of Paris, Petion, was an- 
nounced.^^® He had not joined the procession and he had not 



^""Declaration de Maserey"; Letter of Roederer to the commissioners 
of the department, June 30, 1792. These men, Gamier, Leveillard and 
Demantort were appointed to make a report on the events of the day of 
June 20. They wrote Roederer June 30, their second request, to get from 
Manuel a report of his conduct on June 20. Roederer wrote Manuel on 
the same day making a second request for his report. He received answer 
from Manuel (according to Roederer's letter to the commissioners) say- 
ing that Manuel had spent one hour at the Tuileries June 20. Manuel's 
letter is not given by Roederer. See this correspondence in Revue retro- 
spective, 2 serie, I, 203-04. Manuel stated to Roederer that his place was 
at the city hall on that day. Desmouseaux, substitute for the procureiir 
de la commune, states that Manuel was at his post at the Hotel de Ville at 
nine a. m., June 20, " Declaration de Desmouseaux." Manuel was sus- 
pended from his functions by a decree of the council of the department, 
July 6, 1792, at the same time Petion was suspended. In Archives 
nationales, C 222, I6o"^ there is found a handbill accusing Manuel of 
improper remarks concerning the national guard on this day. 

^°^The statements about the time of Petion's arrival do not perfectly 
agree. Fontaine, a guard beside the king, says ("Declaration de Fon- 
taine") it was fifteen minutes after five. Petion himself ("Conduite 
tenue par M. le maire") says he reached the chateau a little before five 
o'clock. Allowing a little time for him to make his way through the 
crowd to the king, these statements agree. Another guard, Hemery, says 
it was between five and six o'clock; a deputy, Lesier, says it was about 
six o'clock; Becquey, another deputy, says it was two hours after the vol- 
untary deputation from the assembly arrived. This deputation came to the 
chateau immediately after the assembly adjourned at three-thirty. This 
would put the arrival of the mayor at five-thirty. Another means of fixing 
the time is by the arrival of the first deputation sent by the assembly. The 
assembly met at five o'clock and after a ten or fifteen minute discussion 
sent a deputation of twenty- four members to the king. Allowing time for 
them to penetrate the crowd they would reach the king about five-thirty. 
Gosse, a guard at the king's side, says ("Declaration de Gosse") Petion 
arrived just after the deputation; Fontaine, a guard, says ("Declaration 
de Fontaine") he arrived just before the deputation; Champion, a munici- 

307 



112 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

been seen in public since about eleven o'clock in the morning, 
when the decree legalizing the procession had been passed by 
the municipality. Petion tells us that he remained at the city 
hall until half past two o'clock and then he went to the hall of 
the mayoralty. Here he received reports from the chateau through 
municipal officers.^^'' He had given no orders looking toward 
the safety of either the assembly or the Tuileries. Two letters 
written during the day, one from the directory of the department 
and one from three members of the council of the commune, 
show that these constituted authorities were very uneasy. The 
letter from the directory was addressed to the municipality and 
asked for a municipal officer to give them information. The other 
letter was addressed to the mayor at half past four o'clock and 
signed by three members of the council of the commune, who had 
assembled at the city hall. They urged the mayor to send them 
instructions.^'''' Petion did not leave the city hall until half past 



pal officer who helped clear the apartments, says (" Proces-verbal de 
Champion") Petion arrived just before the deputation; and Blanc-Gilli, 
a deputy who had been in the room since the entrance of the crowd, says 
("Lettre d'un depute de I'assemblee nationale") that Petion arrived at 
the same time as the deputation of twenty-four; Borie states ("Proces- 
verbal dresse par Borie") that he and his colleagues. Champion and 
Leroux arrived at the chateau at five-thirty. These met the mayor on the 
stairway. (" Proces-verbal dresse par Hia.") Still another way of fixing 
the time remains. The king said to Petion on his arrival (see reference 
below) that the invasion had lasted two hours and Azema, a deputy who 
was present, also says ("Lettre d' Azema," in Revolution frangaise, 
XXVII, 173) that the king endured this noise two hours. This again 
points to the time of Petion's arrival as about five-thirty. 

''^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Ser- 
gent." Sergent was at the mayoralty until three o'clock when he set out 
for the purpose of getting information. He returned at four o'clock with 
a report that he had heard it said that the people had entered the king's 
apartments. 

'*"' This letter states that the three men who signed it had gone to the 
city hall in response to a notice that each had received which read, 
" The peril is urgent ; quick to the Hotel de Ville." They ask Petion if 
this is his order and whether or not the council will meet today. Both 
letters are printed in Ternaux, I, 208, note i. Petion did not answer these 
letters but at some time during the day he took time to write a letter to 

308 



The Uprising of June 20, 17^2 113 

four or a quarter before five o'clock, when he says he first learned 
through an adjutant that the Tuileries had been invaded.^'^ He 
set out at once, without finishing his dinner, and drove in his car- 
riage to the chateau.^^^ He took with him his secretary Joseau 
and the administrator of police, Sergent. They descended at the 
Cour des Princes, the door of which they had reached with great 
difficulty, and putting on their scarfs, tried to open a passage 
through the crowd. They found everything much obstructed.-^^^ 
Here they were joined by Mouchet and Hu, municipal officers, 
who accompanied them to the apartments of the king.^*'^ 

Mouchet had all the afternoon made the greatest efforts to 
keep the people quiet. He had been at every door that the crowd 
passed through, had stood beside the king for an hour, and finally, 
wearied by his fruitless efforts to clear the chateau, says he had 
gone out an hour before to get refreshments. Hu had also been 
out of the chateau for two hours, he tells us, to assist in rendering 
justice to several men who had been arrested at the chateau and 
carried to the police station near by.^^^ 

The progress of the municipal officers to the royal apartments 
was slow, the crowd being so dense that it was necessary to 
address them and urge them to make room. Petion reminded 



the president of the committee of surveillance of the national assembly 
calling attention to the fact that he had been informed of disturbances 
occurring in the south of France. Archives nationales, F', 4590- 

'*^The note signed by three members of the council, Aug. de Bourge 
(notable), J. Hirmet, and Marie, asking for instructions because the 
danger was pressing, is dated at four-thirty p. m. (Ternaux, I, 208). If 
this was Petion's first information of the invasion of the chateau then he 
acted on the information as soon as he could. But Sergent in his 
proces-verbal states that he returned to the mayoralty at four o'clock and 
had heard it said that the people filled the chateau from top to bottom. 
He must have told Petion this because he left the mayoralty at three o'clock 
to get information. " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." 

-^^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

"""Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent"; "Conduite tenue par M. le 
maire." 

''* Mouchet refers to this court as the Cour Royale. The two courts 
were separated by a wall. 

'"'"Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet"; "Proces-verbal dresse par Hu." 

309 



114 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

them of the dignity that ought to be maintained hy men who 
wished to remain free and who wished to preserve their consti- 
tution. This brought great applause. He urged them to guard 
against ill-intentioned persons who might slip into their midst and 
incite to disorder and so caluminate the people and their magis- 
trates. Passing on up the stairway, several persons asked him 
if the king had withdrawn his vetoes and recalled the ministers. 
He stopped and vehemently said that the will of the king must 
be free and not forced and that the people could only prove its 
cause by moderation. He urged them to retire peaceably. All 
his words were greeted by applause.^^® 

Reaching the ml-de-bceuf, Petion and Sergent saw the king 
surrounded by several officers of the national guard, two chiefs 
of the legion, Aclocque and LaChesnaye, two deputies from the 
assembly, Isnard and Vergniaud, and some municipal officers in 
scarfs, Patris, Vigner, Champion and others.^^'^ Louis XVI still 
wore the red cap and Petion later referred to him as " covered by 
the emblem of liberty."^"^ Raised on the shoulders of several 
citizens, Petion pushed his way to the king amidst great applause. 
"Long live Petion!" shouted the crowd.^^^ "Sire, I have just 
this instant learned the situation you are in," said the mayor. To 
this the king replied, " That is astonishing. This has lasted two 



^"^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet"; " Proces-verbal dresse par Ser- 
gent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Hu " ; " Conduite tenue par M. le 
maire." 

^" " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Leroux " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Champion." Champion, Borie and 
Leroux had been to dinner at the home of Champion and returned to the 
chateau just as Petion arrived. They followed by the same way that the 
mayor took. Hii, who was with Petion, speaks of seeing Borie and 
Leroux on the stairs. Champion soon reached the room where he found 
the mayor with the king. See the proces-verhaux of Champion, Borie, 
Leroux and Hu. 

^■^^ " Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 

^^^Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXVII, 82; Aulard, Societe des 
Jacobins, IV, 22, report given in the Jacobin Club, June 20, 1792; "Dec- 
laration de Lesieur," Ternaux, I, 406 ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Patris." 

310 



The Uprising of June 20, ijgs 115 

hours."^^° The mayor then assured him that he had nothing to 
fear in the midst of the people.'^'^^ 

Petion was raised on the shoulders of several citizens and 
tried to speak.-^^ ^he noise was frightful and he had much diffi- 
culty in making himself heard. " Citizens ! " he cried, and the 
crowd became more quiet. He told them that they had made 
their representations to the hereditary representative of the nation 
with a dignity becoming a free people and urged them to retire 
with the dignity with which they had entered. But the clamor 
and shouts continued and the people did not move on. They called 
for a definite answer from the king and cried, "Down with the 
veto! Sanction the decrees! Recall the ministers! Long live 
the nation ! " Then Petion, mounted on a chair, spoke firmly. 
He said that this was not a suitable time to demand of the king 
the recall of the veto, that he must have time in which to deliberate, 
else it would be said that the king was not free. He said he had 
no doubt that when the eighty-three departments of France ex- 
pressed their wish the king would yield to the manifest desires 
of the people. He continued to urge them to retire. He said 
they had entered with the dignity worthy of a free people and 
had expressed their wishes and that they ought now to retire for 
if they remained longer they would give occasion to their enemies 
to calumniate their good intentions and those of their magistrates 
and again strongly insisted that they move on.-'^^ But while the 
people heard Petion respectfully and applauded him, they replied 
to him with a demand for a definite response from the king and 



^" " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent"; "Declaration de Fontaine." 
The exact words are Fontaine's. 

'"'^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Declaration de Lesieur." 

^^ Sergent says he was one of those who helped Hft him up. 

^^"Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent"; "Declaration de Fontaine"; 
'' Proces-verbal dresse par Patris " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Cham- 
pion"; " Declaration de Lecrosnier " ; Declarations made before the justice 
of the peace of the section of the Tuileries the 2Sth of June, 1792, by 
Montmorin, Hemery, Dorival and Dossonville, Lesieur and Becquey, in 
Ternaux, I, 404 ; " Conduite tenue par M. le maire " ; Roederer, Chronique 
de cinquante jours, 61. 



ii6 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

then there were heard again the cries, "Down with the veto! 
Recall the ministers ! Sanction the decrees ! ""* 

Champion, who was standing near the mayor while he spoke, 
was much offended and expressed his displeasure with the mayor's 
words. He was, however, reproached by his colleagues, accord- 
ing to the account of one of them, for showing too great 
excitement.^'^^ 

During this scene of confusion a handsome, blond young man 
made his way through the crowd and approaching the king, spoke 
to him with vehemence. He addressed him as " Sire " and said 
that if he did not enforce the constitution and sanction the decrees 
of the assembly and recall the patriotic ministers the people would 
force him from the throne. The king calmly answered, " I have 
not turned aside from the path of the constitution." Petion who 
stood near and heard these words addressed to the king said 
nothing.-^'^® 



"* " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Champion"; report made in the Society of the Jacobins, June 20, Aulard, 
Societe des Jacobins, IV, 22. 

"® " Proces-verbal dresse par Champion " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris." Champion was one of the municipal officers who had not re- 
ceived a notice of the meeting of the municipal corps on the morning of 
the 20th. His proces-verbal shows great animus against Petion and his 
statements that Petion was indifferent in his efforts to clear the apart- 
ments are contradicted by every other account. His suppression of the 
things Petion said in his address to the crowd amounts to misrepre- 
sentation. 

^^ " Declaration de Lecrosnier " ; " Declaration de M. Vinf ray," both 
guards in the ml-de-bccuf. Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, IV, 22, gives 
the young man's own version of this incident as he gave it to the Jacobin 
Club the same evening. The king's exact words are not established by 
the evidence. I have used the young man's own report of the king's 
words in the text. Lecrosnier says the king said: "You do not conform 
to the law. Address yourself to the magistrate of the people." Vinfray 
does not give the king's answer.. The Nouvelle correspondance politique 
for June 24 (XIII, 2) says the young man's name was Clement and that 
he was twenty-two years old. The same statement is made in Le cri de la 
douleur of June 23. The paper is royalist and contrasts the young man's 
handsome exterior with his tiger's heart; Lecrosnier says he was twenty- 
five. 

312 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 117 

Petion continued his efforts to start the crowd moving. Munic- 
ipal officers succeeded in forming a double line of national 
guards 'between which the people could file and so could be 
directed away from the entrance to the apartments.^^'^ At the 
suggestion of Sergent and Hii the king ordered the apartments 
to be opened so' that the people could pass out by the gallery. 
Petion, still mounted on a chair, announced the orders given by 
the king to the effect that the procession should go out on the 
side of the corridor, repeated what he had said to the people 
before and continued to urge them- to retire. ^^® Sergent then 
spoke, but it was difficult to hear him because everybody spoke 
at once. He took off his scarf and displaying it in his hands, 
asked the people in the name of this emblem of the law to retire. 
In his efforts he was seconded by Patris and Champion, who 
threw themselves into the crowd and urged the people in the name 
of the law to retire.-^^^ Slowly the crowd began to move out 
between the lines of guards. As they moved along, there were 
cries of " Recall the ministers ! Down with the veto ! Sanction 
the decrees ! Long live the nation ! "2^° And as they passed 
Petion, cries of " Long live Petion ! " were heard and the mayor 
saluted the crowd as it retired. ^^^ 

The object of the mayor and municipal officers had been to 
relieve the pressure around the king so that he might pass into his 
apartments. Guards had already been placed at the lower door 
and in the halls with orders to let no more people enter.^^-^ But 
just at this time the first deputation that had been sent out by the 

'"' " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 
Patris " ; " Declaration de Fontaine." 

^* " Declaration de Fontaine"; "Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent"; 
" Proces-verbal dresse par Hu." 

""'^ Proces-verhaux of Sergent, Champion, and Hii; " Conduite tenue par 
M. le maire." 

='" " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Hu." 

'""Declaration de Fontaine"; " Extrait d'une lettre ecrite de Paris, 
21 juin a Dupin et fils a Montpellier" in Revue hisiorique de la revolution 
frangaise, II, 597. 

="=' " Declaration de J. J. Leroux " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." 



ii8 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

national assembly arrived at the chateau and this opened the way 
for new crowds of people.^^^ 

The deputation was led by the deputy, Brunck, who addressed 
the king. He said that the national assembly had sent twenty- 
four of its members to assure itself of the state of his person, to 
protect his constitutional liberty and to share his dangers if there 
were any. The king answered that he was cognizant of and 
grateful for the solicitude of the assembly, but that he was in the 
midst of the people and had no fear, and that his conscience was 
clear.^^* Meantime the crowd moved slowly on, showing every- 
where the greatest respect for the representatives of the people 
and for the municipal officers.^®^ Petion was now most energetic 
in his efforts, moving from apartment to apartment, urging the 
people to pass on. Municipal officers formed lines of national 
guards in the hall through which the people could pass out. With 
the help of some officers of the law who carried ivory batons, 
the municipal officers soon had the space around the king cleared 
once more.-^^® Urged by the deputies to retire within his apart- 
ments the king accepted the suggestion which he seems to have 
refused twice before.^®'' He was then surrounded by the deputies 



^^Ibid.; "Declaration de Fontaine"; " Proces-verbal dresse par Cham- 
pion." 

^** " Declaration de Fontaine"; report made by Brunck and Lejosne to 
the assembly the same evening in Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 
339; Journal des debats et decrets, No. 268, p. 283; Moniteur, XII, 719. 

^*^ Reports made in the assembly by Lejosne, Dalloz and another member 
whose name is not given ; Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 339 fif. ; 
Journal des debats et decrets, No. 268, p. 284 ff. ; Moniteur, 719; "Declara- 
tion de J. J. Leroux " ; proces-verbaux of Champion, Hu, and Sergent. 

^*® " Conduite tenue par M. le maire " ; " Proces-verbal dresse p'ar 
Patris " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." Sergent says these men 
virere Dorival and Dossonville. Aulard, Societe des Jacobins, IV, 23. The 
" blond young man " who reported this incident in the Jacobin Club said 
that these men with ivory batons said very politely to the people, " Re- 
spect the law ! " 

^'^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent"; report of Lejosne in the assem- 
bly referred to above. Fontaine in his " Declaration " says that Aclocq 
proposed this to the king. It is probable that all urged the king to with- 
draw. According to their own declarations both Mouchet and Hti had 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/g2 119 

from the assembly and by national guards. They all passed into 
the state bedchamber and from there through a private door into 
his apartments.^^^ It was now eight o'clock. 

While the king underwent his ordeal for four hours or more in 
the ceil-de-boeuf, the queen, in her apartments, also suffered great 
mental anguish. Late in the afternoon a detachment of guards 
was sent to her apartments and those of the prince royal with 
orders to let no one enter. They found the halls practically de- 
serted, there being only three or four guards and only about thirty 
guns, abandoned in the rack. The crowd was already pounding 
upon the doors and trying to force entrance.^^^ Meantime the 
queen was on the verge of distraction for the safety of the king 
and the prince royal. She had with her her two children, the 
prince royal and Madame Royale, the Princesse de Lamballe, 
Madame Tourzelle, Rougeville, Guingerlot, Paroy and several 
other members of the court.^®° When the crowd began to attack 
the door she insisted upon going to the king, saying she wished 
to share his danger, but was prevented from doing so by those 
present.^^^ She had the prince sent to the apartments of Madame 
Royale, then brought back to her.^^^ 



proposed the king's retirement earlier, but he refused. He probably sus- 
pected the motives of these officers. 

"^ " Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; " Declaration de Fontaine " ; " Proces- 
verbal dresse par Champion " ; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 
77; Lettre d'un depute de I'assemblee nationale^ Blanc-Gilli; Lettre de 
Ph-Ch-Ai Goupilleau; Extrait d'une lettre ecrite de Paris en datte du 21 
juin a Dupin et fils a Montpellier in Revue hist, de la rev. fran., II, S97. 

^"Declarations of Mussey, Turot, and Jaladon. The same statement is 
signed by four of Mussey's subordinates, Cuvillier, Chauvreau, Corps and 
Balin. These are found with those of Mussey and Turot in " Declarations 
regues par la juge de paix de la section du Roi de Sicile." 

^^ " Declaration de Guingerlot " ; Paroy, Memoires; Madame Tourzelle, 
" Recit," in Archives nationales, C 222, No. 160"^ ; " Deposition de Rouge- 
ville." 

^*' " Deposition de Rougeville " ; Madame Tourzelle, " Recit," in Archives 
nationales, C 222, No. 160"^; Recit exact et circonstancie de ce qui s'est 
passe au chateau des Tuilleries, 20 juin, 1792. This pamphlet gives details 
of how the queen insisted that she would go to the king and share his 
danger but was prevented by Rougeville and Aubier, who, authorized by 
Madame Elizabeth, forcibly detained her. This account is anonymous and 



120 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

The guards outside made vigorous resistance for about an hour 
against the crowd that struck the doors and uttered menaces and 
insults against the queen. The people were determined to reach 
her apartments and in the struggle one of the captains of grena- 
diers, Lasue, was wounded. Seeing the uselessness of resistance, 
the commandant of the Tuileries, Lieutenant General Wittinghof 
ordered the doors opened and the crowd rushed in. Once in the 
apartments, the crowd showed great curiosity, overturning screens, 
forcing doors, rummaging beds, and at the same time uttering 
oaths and menaces against the queen. -^^ 

When it became evident that the people were determined to 
see the queen, she was taken into the council chamber of the king 
through which the procession must pass in descending to the court. 
Between the ceil-de-hceuf and the council chamber was the state 
bedchamber through which the crowd passed.^^* With her were 
Madame Elizabeth who had come to join her, the prince, his 
sister and several ladies of the court, among them Madame Tour- 
zelle and the Princesse de Lamballe. Lieutenant General Wit- 
tinghof, Lajard, minister of war, and Chambonas, minister of 
foreign affairs, were also beside her. The queen and her com- 
panions had been placed in a window recess behind the large 
council table in front of which there were two rows of grenadiers 
of the Filles-Saint-Thomas, commanded by Mandat.^^^ As soon 



was written later than June 23d and, being very similar to that of Rouge- 
.ville, I assume it is drawn from him. See also "Bulletin avec details sur 
ce qui s'est passe aux Tuilleries le 20 juin, 1792," in Klinckowstrom, II, 
303; "Bulletin de ce qui s'est passe aux Tuilleries le 20 juin, 1792," dated 
June 21, Klinckowstrom, II, 307. 

^"^ " Deposition de Rougeville " ; Madame Tourzelle, " Recit," in the 
Archives nationales, C 222, No. 160"^. Paroy in his Memoires says the 
queen first sent the little dauphin to the apartments of Madame Mackan, 
who lived just under the roof, by Hue, his valet de chambre, but in her 
excitement called him back before he got there and then she fainted. 

^"^ Declarations of Mussey, Turot, and Jaladon. 

^°* Guibout says in his " Declaration " that the people cried, " Is this the 
bed of the great Veto? Monsieur Veto has a more beautiful bed than we 
have. Where is the great Veto? " etc. 

^°* " Rapport de Mandat " ; " Rapport de Lagard " ; " Deposition de 
Rougeville " ; " Declaration de Leclerc " ; " Declaration de Guingerlot " ; 

316 



The Uprising of June 20, ly^s 121 

as the crowd began to cross the apartments, Santerre entered and 
took his place beside her, at her right. She seemed disturbed at 
first. Addressing her, he told her that she deceived herself; that 
the people wished her no harm; that if she desired it, there was 
not one of them who would not love her as ^uch as her child 
did ; he begged her to save France and assured her that she had 
nothing to fear. He then assumed the role of her protector while 
the crowd passed.^''® He ordered the guard to make room so that 
the people might enter and see the queen and as they passed he 
urged them on. 

A woman in the procession offered Wittinghof a red cap, which 
he gave to the queen. She put it on her head and then on the 
head of the prince royal. -^" After a quarter of an hour Santerre, 
pitying the child's discomfort, said to his mother, " Take the cap 
off of the child, it is too warm." All this time, he kept urging 
the people to pass on, saying to them, " Look at the queen ! Look 
at the prince royal ! "^^^ A woman in the procession stopped 
before the queen and, looking at her, began to weep. Santerre 
pushed her on, saying she was drunk. -''^ The queen remained 
throughout this ordeal remarkably calm and courageous. ^""^ 

Several municipal officers now entered the room where the 



" Lettre de J. B. Mosneron " in Revue d'histoire moderne et contempo- 
raine, XI, 115. Romainvilliers says (" Eclaircissement a demander a M. 
le commandant-general") that he sent a detachment of guards to the 
queen and himself watched her, but no one else mentions this. See also 
Report of Santerre to the mayor, Ternaux, I, 415. 

^^^ " Extrait du rapport fait par Santerre au maire," in Ternaux, I, 415 ; 
Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXVII, 84; "Declaration de Leclerc." 

''"' Rapport de Mandat"; "Rapport de Lagard"; " Recit de Madame 
Tourzelle " ; " Declaration de Leclerc " ; " Deposition de Rougeville." The 
first three witnesses say that Santerre entered before the hat was pre- 
sented; the other two say he entered afterward. The last two are the 
only ones who speak of Wittinghof giving the red hat to the queen. The 
others say some one gave it to her or a woman gave it to her. 

="*" Rapport de Mandat"; "Rapport de Lagard"; "Deposition de 
Rougeville." 

^°*" Rapport de Mandat." In the declarations made before the justice 
of the peace of the section Roi de Sicile, two of Mussey's subordinates 
refer to a woman who was probably this one. Cuvillier says she was 



122 



Laura B. Pfeiffer 



queen was to aid in clearing the apartments ; among them were 
Champion and Leroux.^"^ Two rows of national guards had been 
drawn up by LaChesnaye, chief of the sixth legion, extending 
from the ceil-de-brntf through the state bed chamber, the council 
hall, and the corridors to an outside entrance and the crowd 
passed out between them.^°^ Municipal officers continued to urge 
the people on, but many lingered, asking what answer the king 
had made to the demand for the recall of the vetoes and for the 
return of the patriotic ministry. Some complained that they had 
been brought there for nothing, but that they would return and 
would have what they wished. Two guards testified that they 
heard Santerre say on starting from the chateau, " The king has 
been hard to move to-day. We will return to-morrow ; we will 
make him give in."^°^ At about half past eight every one had 
retired and the queen and the royal family joined the king in 
his apartment. Weeping, they threw themselves into each other's 
arms and a touching scene followed. ^°* 

The deputies who entered the king's apartment with him re- 
mained for a time, when a second and then a third deputation 
from the assembly came in. These had all been required by 
municipal officers outside to show their cards before entering.^''' 
The last deputation arrived about nine o'clock and talked with 
the king and his family about an hour. The queen took them to 

dumb and Guffroy says she wept. See their declarations in Recueil de 
pieces, XXXVII. 

^""Recit de Madame Tourzelle; Bulletin avec details sur ce qui s'est passe 
aux Tuilleries le 20 juin, 1792. Letter of J. B. Mosneron in Revue 
d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, XI, 116. 

^^ Declarations of Champion and J. J. Leroux. 

^°" " Declaration de LaChesnaye " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." 

^"^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Hu"; Azema, Letter of June 20, 1792, in 
Revolution frangaise, XXVII, 172 ; " Declaration du commandant du 
deuxieme bataillon de la quatrieme legion et plusieurs grenadiers et volon- 
taires du meme bataillon," signed Blouet and Pical. 

^"Declaration de Gosse"; Bourcet in Revolution frangaise, XVI, yy; 
Letter of J. B. Mosneron to Louis XVIII, in Revtie d'histoire moderne 
et contemporaine, XI, 116; Note historique sur la journee du 20 juin, 1792, 
par le Sr. Joly. 

^^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent." 

3i« 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/g2 123 

see the little prince, who was playful and charming. Some of 
the aristocratic deputies flattered the king and queen, but the 
patriotic deputies made objection to this. The king spoke kindly 
of the people and made no complaint. At about ten o'clock, they 
all retired, leaving the family alone.^"^ 

Petion, who had left the king when the deputation from the 
assembly arrived, continued to make the greatest efforts to clear 
the chateau. Carried on the shoulders of two grenadiers, he 
urged the crowd on the stairway, in the vestibule and in the 
courts, in the name of the law, to follow him, remaining at the 
principal door until all had passed out. He was ably seconded 
by the municipal officers, Sergent, Leroux, Hu, Patris, Mouchet 
and Champion. These formed lines of guards to prevent new 
crowds entering, urged the people in the name of the law to go 
out, and their efforts added to the zeal and energy of the mayor 
were effective. The people everywhere passed on without resist- 



ance 



307 



It was still a question of clearing the courts and the garden and 
closing the gate. Sergent and Hii with some national guards 
succeeded in this with little effort and closed and guarded the 
gates. Petion with Sergent, Hu and Leroux, returned to the 
apartments to see that no stragglers remained. Finding all was 
well, Petion went to the national assembly to give an account of 



^^ Lettre de Ph-Ch-Ai Goupilleau; Letter of Azema in Revolution 
frangaise, XXVII, 172; Lettre d'un depute, etc., Blanc-Gilli. Azema says 
that in the conversation the king showed a remarkable memory for inci- 
dents and persons and details of the afternoon's events. He says he spoke 
of Santerre and of Theroinge. Theroinge is mentioned as being in the 
crowd by the Nouvelle correspondance politique, XII, 2; Varenne, His- 
toire particuliere, also says she was in the crowd this day but neither of 
these state that she was in the chateau. Theroinge was a well known revo- 
lutionary character, a very beautiful woman of the demi-monde. One 
authority, a police report found in Archives nationales, 1^4387, states that 
she was in the crowd on the 20th and that she did not cease to provoke 
the people to support the project of the faubourgs. The report is signed, 
Minot. 

*"" Conduit tenue par M. le maire"; Declarations of J. J. Leroux and 
Legrand, made to the justice of the peace of the section Roi de Sicile; 
Proces-verhaux of Sergent, Patris, Hu, Mouchet, and Champion. 



124 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

his conduct during the day. It was now ten o'clock and the 
courts and gardens of the chateau were silent.^°^ 

The constituted authorities plainly feared a repetition of the 
day's events on the morrow and so took precautions to prevent it 
before they retired that night. Petion wrote to the commandant 
at ten o'clock : " It is reported, M. le commandant, that the 
citizens are going to the Tuileries tomorrow. I avow that I do 
not believe it, but as it is not permissible to neglect a matter of 
this importance, I ask you to bring an imposing force, to estab- 
lish patrols, in a word to take every precaution for safety."^°^ At 
half past ten the directory of the department met and passed the 
following decree : " Ordered that the mayor and municipality of 
Paris do insure, by all the means the law has put into their power, 
security and public peace, especially the safety of the king, the 
royal family and the chateau of the Tuileries. "^^° They then 
wrote to Petion asking him to come to the directory at nine o'clock 
in the morning with some municipal officers to arrange with them 
measures to be taken to insure public order for the day.^^^ At 
eleven o'clock. Terrier, the minister of the interior, wrote to the 
directory : " I ask you, gentlemen, in the name of the king, to come 
to the Tuileries to arrange with us some means of insuring order 
this night."^^^ He wrote another letter showing his fears for the 
morrow and said, " I learn, gentlemen, that the same gathering 
which occurred today is going to form tomorrow. I ask you in 
the name of the country to use all means which the law has en- 
trusted to you to maintain order and prevent the deadly occur- 
rence with which we have been threatened today."^^^ It appears 



*^ " Conduit tenue par M. le maire"; Proces-verbaux of Hu, Sergent, 
Leroux, and Champion; report of Montjourdan at eleven-thirty p. m., 
June 20, in Archives nationales, C 222, 160"^. 

^* Petion to the commandant, June 20, 1792, ten p. m., in Archives 
nationales, F'4774™. 

^^"Deliberations of the directory, ten-thirty p. m., in Revue retrospective, 
2 serie, I, 177. 

*" Directory to Petion in Archives nationales, F'4774"'. 

^" Terrier to the directory, June 20, eleven p. m., in Revue retrospective, 
2 serie, I, 190. 

^* Terrier to the directory, June 20, 1792, in Archives nationales, 

F4774'". 

320 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 125 

from this that the threats of the crowd on going out of the 
chateau and their disappointment in not receiving a promise 
from the king were taken seriously. Especially at the Tuileries 
was the recurrence of the movement feared.^^* 

During all the confusion and uproar at the chateau the assem- 
bly, which we saw resume its session at five o'clock, continued its 
deliberations. It listened to reports of the invasion of the 
Tuileries and continued to express its disapproval of any state- 
ment which intimated that there was danger to the king's person. 
The temper of the assembly and its extreme sensitiveness are 
seen in its behavior toward the next two speakers. Brunck, who 
was spokesman for the first deputation sent to the Tuileries, re- 
ported the king's remark that he had no fear because he was 
in the midst of "his people." This statement caused much dis- 
approval and murmurs were heard. The assembly was calmed 
only by the remark of another deputy, Lejosne, who said that he 
had heard the king say that he was in the midst of the " French 
people," not "his people."'^^ Dalloz^^*' followed with the report 
that the representative of the people had everywhere received 
marks of respect. He added that the king, on being reassured by 
some deputies, answered that a good man who had a clear con- 
science is not afraid and that he took the hand of a national 
guard and carried it to his heart saying, " See if it palpitates and 
if I am afraid." This brought great applause. ^^'^ The second 



^* " Observations du 21 juin, 1792," Soltho Douglas in Archives nation- 
ales, W i''25i. Sergent-Marceau says (" Notice historique sur les evene- 
ments du 10 aout 1792 et 20 et 21 juin, precedents") that this man, " le 
petit abbe Soltho Douglas," was in the pay of the court to give informa- 
tion to the police. 

^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 339; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 283; Moniteur, XII, 719. 

^^° Spelled variously : Dalloz, Dallot, AIos. The correct spelling, accord- 
ing to Kucinsky, is Dalloz. 

*" This is the second time that this incident, concerning the king, is 
reported on this day. The statement that it occurred at this time is borne 
out by Oelsner {Revue historique, LXXXVIII, 83), who was in the (sil- 
de-boeuf. He says the king took the hand of a deputy and held it to his 
heart. The incident is a third time reported by Azema (Revolution 

321 



126 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

deputation that had been sent out by the assembly now returned 
and reported that all was quiet at the Tuileries and that the king 
had retired to his apartments and had there said that he felt no 
fear in the midst of " his people." At these words the tumult 
broke out afresh and Becquey shouted that this was no time to 
quarrel over words. When the tumult ceased a deputy reported 
that the only violence committed at the chateau was the breaking 
of some doors and locks. ^^* 

Presently Petion and some municipal officers appeared at the 
bar of the assembly and the tumult recommenced. Petion was 
greeted with applause and menaces. His report was an attempt 
to justify his conduct on this day. He spoke as follows : " Gentle- 
men, I ask your indulgence because I have not had time to put my 
ideas in order. There has been some anxiety because of the great 
number of citizens who have gone into the apartments of the 
king. The king, gentlemen, has had no anxiety, for he knows the 
French people better. He well knows how his person has been 
respected for the last three years. He knows that the magistrates 
have labored without ceasing to assure the king the respect due 
him under the constitution. The magistrates, gentlemen, have 
done their duty, I dare say, with great zeal and I have been much 
disturbed that some persons have seemed to doubt it for one 
instant." Here he was interrupted by cries of, " And who still 
doubt it!" There were murmurs and shouts of, "Call him to 
order ! call him to order l"^^" 

Then a member demanded that any one who was wanting in 
respect to a petitioner or to a magistrate of the people who came 
to give an account of his conduct, should be denounced. Boul- 
lenger cried, in answer to this, that no one had yet denounced 
those who were wanting in respect to the king and those who 
were the authors of a plot and Ducos retorted that if Boullenger 

frangaise, XXVII, 174) as having occurred in the apartments after the 
king had retired from the crowd. 



^^^ Journal de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 341; Journal des debats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 285. 

^' This speech of Petion's is the same in the Moniteur, XII, 720, Journal 
de I'assemblee nationale, XXI, 341, and Journal des debats et decrets, No. 
268, p. 285. 

322 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 127 

did not denounce the plot, he would brand upon his forehead the 
name of calumniator. This brought great applause from the 
galleries. But the assembly refused Boullenger the floor and 
Petion continued. 

" Some people do not know what the municipality has done. 
It is not for me to pronounce eulogies upon its conduct, but I can 
say that it has performed its duty in a way that merits appro- 
bation." He then reviewed the movement since his first informa- 
tion concerning it. He spoke of the municipality having learned 
on June 16 that a petition was to be presented to the assembly 
and to the king, and said that the municipal council had refused 
to authorize the movement because the citizens had asked to pre- 
sent themselves in arms without specifying that they belonged to 
the national guards or to a battalion, but that, when circumstances 
had changed, this same council gave the battalions permission to 
march. He said that the chiefs of the battalions had presented 
themselves at the mayoralty and had assured the mayor that the 
intentions of the citizens were good and that the constituted 
authorities had at other times permitted citizens to march armed 
and that they had been well received by the national assembly. 
Why discriminate against them? Then they [the officers] said 
tjhat they would not be the ones to prevent the citizens from 
marching armed. In consequence of this a prudent measure was 
taken by the municipality. The battalions were authorized to 
march and the other citizens were allowed to place themselves 
under the national flag and under the chiefs recognized by law. 
Thus the citizens marched legally and being under recognized 
chiefs would do no wrong. 

This measure was communicated to the department, which did 
not approve of it. Immediately the police and the mayor had 
taken every precaution and had conformed to the letter which 
the directory had written to them. But Petion said there had 
been no need of referring to the directory of the department 
because the public force could not act without authority from the 
municipality. He said that municipal officers had been sent to 
the gathering places in the faubourgs on the morning of June 20 
to speak to the citizens and that the citizens insisted that they 

323 



128 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

would not form a mob nor cause a riot. In view of these cir- 
cumstances, he called the municipality together and, believing 
that it would be very imprudent and very dangerous to allow 
forty thousand men to move without leaders, the municipality 
decided to legalize the movement by requiring the battalions to 
march under their commandants, allowing the citizens to range 
themselves under the flag of the national guard. It was under 
these circumstances that the citizens had presented their petition 
to the assembly and to the king. 

He said that the citizens, having marched through the assembly 
and the Tuileries, respecting property and insulting no one, had 
proved that they had no intention of committing excesses. Any 
intentions of that kind could easily have been carried out for 
there was not sufficient police force to have prevented anything 
the crowd might have attempted. He declared he had gone to 
the Tuileries and had done all he could to restore quiet and have 
the apartments cleared as promptly as possible and that the 
king had nothing to complain of and had expressed himself so 
to the various deputations that the assembly had sent to him. He 
said all was now quiet at the Tuileries and that he hoped it would 
remain so. He assured them that the magistrates would neglect 
no measures for maintaining the peace. This was followed by 
reiterated applause. 

In conclusion Petion added, " I have heard it said that there 
are plots. It will be necessary for the public safety that these 
should be made known. I do not believe that any good citizen 
will refuse to give such proofs as he has, to enable the magistrates 
to baffle the conspirators. I ask all the members of the assembly 
who have proofs, to present them and the magistrates will at once 
perform their duty." This was followed by much applause.^^° 

Charlier suggested that honorable mention should be made of 
the conduct of the municipality. Becquey opposed this proposi- 
tion which was received with murmurs and cries of, " No ! No !"^^^ 



^^^ Journal de I'assemhlee nationale, XXI, 341 ff. ; Journal des dehats et 
decrets, No. 268, p. 288 ff. ; Moniteiir, XII, 720. 

^"^^ Ibid. The Journal des debats et decrets does not give the name of 
Charher and the Moniteur does not mention Becquey. Otherwise the 
accounts agree. 

324 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 129 

After some other business had been presented to the assembly, 
Guyton-Morvekux, spokesman of the last deputation sent to the 
king, reported that all was quiet at the Tuileries, that the 
deputies had remained some time with the king and that they had 
seen nothing to cause alarm. He said an officer of the guard had 
reported that the chateau was clear and that the king had retired 
to rest. The assembly adjourned at half past ten o'clock-^*'- 

So ended the famous demonstration of June 20, 1792. That 
it was a popular uprising, a spontaneous outburst of feeling 
against the king because of his dupHcity and his collusion with the 
foreign enemy, a feeling intensified by his dismissal of the minis- 
try and his refusal to sanction the decrees of the assembly, is 
clearly seen. The war which had been forced on the court by the 
assembly and carried on in a half-hearted way had failed. 
Austria was presumptuously interfering in the internal affairs of 
France and the constitution which the revolution had made pos- 
sible was not being enforced and was now threatened with over- 
throw. The king, in order to carry out his anti-revolutionary 
policy, dismissed the Girondist ministry and vetoed the decrees 
for the establishment of a camp of 20,000 federes to protect 
Paris and the assembly. In doing this, the king acted within his 
constitutional rights. 

The assembly, although it believed that the king was using 
this technical right to aid the invaders and to defeat the revolu- 
tion, was itself unwilling to save the country by violating the 
constitution. 

In the faubourgs, where the people felt less respect for con- 
stitutional restrictions, there was deep seated distrust of the king, 
a strong belief in his treachery and fear of the foreign enemy. 
Ever since the outbreak of the war in April, the sections in the 
faubourgs had considered organized resistance to the menaces 
from the court within and from the enemy without France and 
this feehng had been intensified by the dismissal of the Girondist 
ministry and the veto of the decrees. The men of the faubourgs 
determined to save France by bringing pressure to bear on the 
assembly and by forcing the king to act in accordance with the 

^^^ Ibid. 

225 



130 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

spirit of the constitution.^-^ Thus an early plan to celebrate on 
June 20 the oath of the tennis court by presenting petitions to 
the king and to the assembly and by planting a liberty tree took 
on, from these circumstances, a revolutionary character. 

The movement had no definite prominent leaders. If Girondins 
or Jacobins were the real leaders, their acts have been vv^ell con- 
cealed, for there is no evidence by which to fix responsibility 
upon them. The Girondins wished the recall of their ministers 
and trusted that the uprising would contribute to this end. The 
Jacobins did not wish the return of this ministry, as that would 
continue a constitutional monarchy. They hoped for a new 
revolution which would overthrow the monarchy. The ostensible 
leadership of the day was in the hands of the popular idols of the 
faubourgs. 

The failure to prevent the movement was due both to sympathy 
on the part of some of the constituted authorities and to their 
conviction that any attempt at repression would result in blood- 
shed. This led to a plan to permit and control the movement. 
The mayor, at first inactive, was forced to act by the decrees of 
the directory which was determined to check the uprising even 
though it resulted in bloodshed. The mayor, still cautious, on 
learning from the commandants of the faubourgs that it would 
be impossible to prevent the march without bloodshed, proposed 
to the directory to legalize and control it. The directory, how- 
ever, stood firmly for repression, forced the mayor to instruct 
the commandants to this effect, and to send police to the 
gathering places. These officers made every peaceful effort to 
prevent the procession and when their efiforts proved fruitless, 
the mayor and the municipal council, on the advice of the com- 
mandants, voted to legalize the march and give it leadership, 
hoping thus to render it harmless. The government, acting 
through the minister of the interior, stood with the directory in 
its effort to prevent the movement at any cost. The majority of 
the members of the legislative assembly were in sympathy with 



^^ The feeling in the faubourgs is expressed in such pamphlets as Grande 
discourse pronounce'e par le patriate Gouchon and Preuves evidentes des 
trahisons de I'etat-major. 

326 



The Uprising of June 20, I'jgs 131 

the demonstration. The silence of that body that followed the 
reading of the directory's decree on June 19 indicated this. The 
debates show an unwillingness to condemn the citizens, a sym- 
pathy with the movement and resentment when the people's 
motives were questioned or when the king was said to be in 
danger. The national guard was divided in its sympathy. Sev- 
eral of its commandants were leaders of the movement and the 
general commandant was wholly inactive. Some of the guards 
expressed themselves as unwilling to fire on the people. Under 
these circumstances, it seemed impossible to prevent the demon- 
stration. 

The plan of the faubourgs was to present petitions to the 
assembly and to the king and to combine this act with the celebra- 
tion of the oath of the tennis court by planting a liberty tree. 
The plan was not well formed and its execution was a good deal 
of an accident. The tree was planted, but not where it was in- 
tended. The petition to the assembly had been drawn up in the 
faubourgs. It voiced the fears of the people, charging plots and 
conspiracies, appealed to the assembly for protection of their 
liberties, advocated resistance to oppression as expressed in article 
two of the declaration of rights and threatened tyrants with the 
vengeance of the men of the 14th of July. It complained of the 
dismissal of the patriotic ministers, the inaction of the armies and 
the delays of the high national courts, but made no mention of 
the king's vetoes. Whether this omission was due to the fact that 
the petition was drawn up before the vetoes were officially an- 
nounced or whether the framers of the petition were less con- 
cerned with the vetoes than they were with the recall of the 
ministers, is not clear. Possibly the demand for the withdrawal of 
the vetoes was reserved for the petition to the king, but of this 
petition we have no record. However that may be, the determina- 
tion that the king should hear the wishes of the people on both 
of these questions was evident and was successfully carried out 
when the crowd entered the chateau. 

Here the demand for the recall of the ministers and for the with- 
drawal of the vetoes was insistent. The distrust of the king was 
pronounced and the warning that something would be done, that 

327 



132 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

he would even be dethroned, if he did not change his attitude 
toward the revolution, was clearly voiced. The crowd withdrew 
from the Tuileries only when urged by Petion to allow the king 
to decide freely concerning the demands made upon him and when 
assured that he would " acquiesce in the manifest desire of the 
people." The demands were not withdrawn. The people even 
threatened to return, if the king did not yield to their wishes; 
he was simply given time in which to act. Should he persist in 
his duplicity, should he refuse to recall the ministers and with- 
draw his vetoes, a second and more serious uprising, an uprising 
that would cost him his throne seemed inevitable. The affair 
of June 20 was not, then, a wild outbreak of unreasoning popular 
fury, but a demonstration of the political intelligence of the resi- 
dents of the faubourgs of Paris, of their determination to put 
an end to a situation that had already lasted too long. On that 
day Louis XVI received his last opportunity to abandon his policy 
of duplicity and frankly accept the revolution. He failed to under- 
stand and on August 10 the men of the faubourgs kept their 
promise, returned to the Tuileries, forced the suspension of the 
king and saved France from the invading armies. The days of 
June 20 and August 10, 1792 are inseparable and are no less sig- 
nificant than that of July 14, 1789.^^* 



^^*That the significance of this day was clearly understood by the Rus- 
sian government is shown by the fact that diplomatic relations were broken 
off with France because of it. On July 19, Catharine II sent a note of 
dismissal to M. Genet, charge des affaires de France. Relations were not 
to be renewed until the king of France should be reinstated in his rights 
and prerogatives. Catharine understood that the events of June 20 were a 
menace lo all royalty. In a letter to Grimm, August 13, 1792, she said so 
and explained her reasons for dismissing Genet. Recueil des instructions 
donnes aux amhassadeurs et ministres de France, II, 530, 536. The royalists 
throughout France felt the significance of the day also and expressed their 
abhorrence in pamphlets and addresses to the king on the following days. 
See Addresse au roi apres la journee du 20 juin, //p^; Au I'oi; Aux 
citoyens amis de la constitution par les federes; De I'affreuse conspiration 
qui vient d'etre decouverte par des members de I'assemblee nationale; 
Description de la fete civique donnee au roi; Lettre au roi presents par 
ses fideles sujets, signed P. M. D. V. ; Paroles d'un vrai Frangais. 



328 



The Uprising of June 20, 1792 133 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I. SOURCES 

A. Manuscript. Archives nationales 

1. C i8s, No. 526 : Terrier, Letter to Louis XVI, eight o'clock, June 20, 

1792. 

2. C222, No. 160"'; (i) Bourcet, Letter to the king, July 9, 1792; (2) 

Montjourdain, commandant with the prince royal, report eleven- 
thirty p. m., June 20, 1792; (3) Tourzelle, Mme., Recit de se qui s'est 
passe a la journee du 20 juin, 1792, June 22, 1792. 

3. F3688: Correspondence of the minister of the interior. (l) The Di- 

rectory to Terrier, June 20, 1792; (2) Terrier to the committee of 
twelve, June 22, 1792; (3) Roederer to Terrier, June 26, 1792. 

4. F4387: Police reports, (i) Minot, June 20, 1792; (2) Niquille and 

Gautier to the police, ten-thirty a. m., June 22, 1792; (3) Police 
report on the Chevaliers du poignard, June 20, 1792. (Unsigned.) 

5. F'4390A: Certificates concerning events in the chateau, June 20, 1792, 

made by (i) Aclocq, July IS, 1792; (2) D'Hervilly, July 16, 1792; 
(3) Mandat, July 15, 1792. 

6. F4590: (i) Petion's letter to the president of the committee of serveil- 

lance of the national assembly, June 20, 1792; (2) Decree of the 
section of the Tuileries, June 28, 1792. 

7. F4774'". A group of letters consisting chiefly of correspondence be- 

tween the mayor of Paris and other officials: (i) Petion to the 
commandant RomainviUiers, June 18, 1792; (2) Petion to Dumont, 
commissioner of police of the section Montreuil, June 10, 1792; (3) 
Petion to Sergent, five a. m., June 20, 1792; (4) Petion to the com- 
mandant, ten p. m., June 20, 1792; (S) Alexander to Petion, June 
20 1792; (6) Laffond to Petion and municipal officers, one forty-five 
p'm, June 20, 1792; (7) Longchamp to Petion, June 20, 1792; (8) 
Poullenot to Petion, June 23, 1792; (9) Renaud, commandant of 
Saint-Marcel, to Petion, June 20, 1792; (10) Roederer to Petion, 
June 20 1792; (II) Terrier to the Directory, June 20, 1792. 
8 W i'' 251 (Dossier Soltho Douglas). Police reports, (i) Observa- 
tions du 19 juin, 1792; (2) Observations du 20 J^i"- 1792; (3) Ob- 
servations du 21 juin, 1792. These are all signed Soltho Douglas. 



329 



134 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

B. Printed 
I. Collections. Documents and Correspondence 

a. Proclamation du rot et recueil de pieces sur les evenements dn vingt 
juin, 1792. This volume was published by order of the directory of 
the department and consists of two parts. 

(i) Part I, Proclamation du rot et recueil de pieces relatives a 
I'arrete du conseil du departeinent du 6 juillet, 1792, concernant 
le maire et le procureur de la commune de Paris, Paris, 
d'imprimerie royale, 1792. It contains four documents which 
relate to the suspension of the mayor and the prosecuting at- 
torney of the commune from their functions. They are: (a) 
Proclamation du roi concernant I'arrete du conseil du departe- 
ment du 6 juillet, qui suspend provisoirement le maire et le 
procureur de la commune de Paris, du 11 juillet, 1792. (b) 
L'arrete du conseil du departement du 6 juillet, 1792. (c) 
Rapport et conclusion du procureur general-syndic du departe- 
ment de Paris, relativement aux evenements du 20 juin; lu au 
conseil du departement le 6 juillet, 1792. (d) Extrait des regis- 
ters du conseil du departement. Proces-verbal de la seance du 
conseil du vendredi 6 juillet, 1792. 

(2) Part II is entitled Pieces justificatives sur les evenements du vingt 
juin, 1792. This is paged separately and contains 94 pages. It 
consists of letters, declarations, reports and proces-verbaux of 
officers as follows : (a) Letters, i'. Copie de la lettre ecrite au 
procureur-general syndic du departement, par le maire de Paris, 
18 juin, 1792. No. I. Also reproduced in Revue retrospective, 
2 serie, I, 162. 2'. Copie du lettre addresse au directoire, le 
20 juin a minuit, per MM. les maires et officiers municipaux au 
departement de Paris. No. II. Printed in Ternaux, I, 145, and 
in Arch, pari., XLV, 441. 3'. Copie de la lettre ecrite par M. 
Petion a M. Roederer, le 20 juin, 1792, 5 heures du matin. 
Original in Arch nat., P'^4774™ No. III. 4'. Copie de la lettre 
ecrite aux maire et officiers municipaux, administrateurs de 
police, par le directoire du departement, 20 juin, 1792, a cinq 
heures du matin. Also found in Revue retrospective, 2 serie, 
166, and Arch, pari., XLV, 442. No. IV. s'. Copie de la lettre 
ecrite au commandant generale de la garde nationale, par le 
directoire du departement de Paris, 20 juin, 1792, a cinq heures 
et demi du matin. Als,o in Revue retrospective, 2 serie, I, 167. 
No. V. 6'. Copie de la lettre ecrite au ministre de I'interieur, 
par le directoire du departement de Paris, 20 juin, 1792, a six 
heures du matin. Also found in Revue retrospective, 2 serie, 
I, 167, and Arch, pari., XLV, 441. No. VI. 7'. Copie de la 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 135 

lettre du ministre de I'interieur au directoire du departement 
du 20 juin, 1792. Found also in Rapport du ministre de 
I'interieur, where it is dated nine o'clock a. m. Also in Arch, 
pari, XLV, 442. No. VIII. (b) Reports, i'. Rapport que 
fait M. de Romainvilliers, commandant-general, des faits qui 
sont passes dans la malheureuse journee du 20 juin, 1792, et 
journees antecedentes. No. XV. Addition au rapport que le 
commandant-general a eu I'honneur de presenter au departe- 
ment. No. XXXI. Printed also in Hist, pari., XV, 147, and in 
Revue retrospective, 2 serie, I, 214. 2'. Rapport du chef de la 
deuxieme legion, a MM. les administrateurs du departement, 
sur I'ordre qu'il en a regu concernant I'affaire arrivee au chateau 
le 20 juin, 1792 (Aclocq). No. XVI. 3'. Rapport de Terrier au 
directoire du departement concernant I'ouverture de la porte de 
la cour royale, 26 juin, 1792. No. XVIII. Printed in Revue 
retrospective, 2" serie, I, 202. 4'. Rapport de I'evenement ar- 
rivee au chateau des Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792. Signed by 
Lagarde, adjutant-general de la 4^ legion. No. XIX. 5'. 
fivenements du 20 juin, 1792, signed Carle, ist lieutenant colonel, 
30th division. No. XXI. 6'. fivenements de la journee du 
mercredi 20 juin, 1792, signed Rulhiere, Col. 29th division of 
Nat. guards. No. XXIV. 7'. Rapport de Pierre Moiteaux, 
gendarme of the 29th division of Nat. gendarmerie. No. XXV. 
8'. Rapport de M. Lassus, fivenements de la journee du 20 juin, 
1792 (ist Captain of 29th division of Nat. gendarmerie). No. 
XXVI. 9'. Rapport de Louis Marotte, adjutant (of 29th divi- 
sion of Nat. gendarmerie). No. XXVII. 10'. Rapport de Jean 
Foret (gendarme, 29th division of Nat. gendarmerie). No. 
XXVIII. 11'. Copie du rapport du chef de la quatrieme 
legion, sur la journee du 20 juin, 1792, signed Mandat. No. 
XXXIV. 12'. Rapport de ce qui s'est passe dans le bataillon du 
Val-de-Grace et conduit des deux commandants de ce bataillon, 
la journee du 20 juin, 1792, avec les pieces justificatives a 
I'appui, certificates veritables par M. Saint-Prix, commandant 
en chef. No. XXXV. 13'. Rapport de Pinon (chef du Sth 
legion). No. XXXVI. (c) Declarations, i'. Declaration de 
Leclerq (commandant en chef, 4th bataillon, 5th legion). No. 
VII. Also in Revue retrospective, 2" serie, I, 169. 2'. Declara- 
tion du commandant du deuxieme bataillon de la quatrieme 
legion et plusieurs grenadiers et volontaires du meme bataillon 
(signed Perre, Berger, Blouet, Sallier, Stadel, Lesecq, Duhaviel 
and Calame). No. X. 3'. Declaration du Sieur Bidault le 
jeune. No. XL Also in Hist, pari., XV, 162, and Revue 
retrospective, 2 serie, 1, 205. 4'. Declaration du sieur Lecrosnier, 



136 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

negociant grenadier du bataillon de Saint-Opportune. No. XII. 
Also in Hist, pari., XV, 163, and Revue retrospective, 2* serie, 
I, 205. 5'. Declaration du sieur Gosse, grenadier voluntaire du 
bataillon de Saint-Opportune. No. XIII. Also in Hist, pari., 
XV, 163, andRevue retrospective, 2 serie, I, 210. 6'. Copie de 
la declaration de M. Guibout, grenadier du bataillon de Saint- 
Opportune. No. XIV. Also in Hist, pari., XV, 164, and Revue 
retrospective, 2 serie, I, 211. 7'. A messieurs du directoire du 
departement de Paris, signed Jaladon volunteer, 4" bataillon, 
1st legion. No. XVII. Also in archives of the ministry of 
justice. 8'. A messieurs composant le directoire du departement 
de Paris, signed Maserey. No. XXIII. 9'. Declaration du 
chef de la sixieme legion de la garde nationale Parisienne, 
signed LaChesnaye. No. XXIX. 10'. Declaration faite a MM. 
du directoire du departement de Paris par Leclerc, adjutant 
general de la premiere legion de la garde nationale Parisienne 
sur le fait dont il a ete temoin dans la journee du 20 juin, 1792, 
No. XXX. 11'. Declaration de Pierre Joseph Bron, Suisse de la 
Porte Royale. No. XXXII. 12'. Declaration du Sieur Des- 
mousseaux (Substitute of the Procureur-syndic of the com- 
mune). No. XXXIII. 13'. Declaration du Saint- Fontaine 
(volunteer of the 8th battahon of the 2d legion). No. XXXVII. 
14'. Declaration regue par le juge de paix de la section du Roi 
de Sicile, signed separately by Lareynie, Turot, Mussey and 
one by Cuvillier, Chauvreau, Corps, Ballin and another by Le- 
grand. No. XXXVII. Lareynie's declaration is found also 
in Hist, pari., XV, 116. (d) Proces-verbaux. i'. Section de 
Montreuil, Proces-verbal de la protestation de MM. Bonneau 
et Savin, commandants du bataillon de Saint-Marguerite. No. 
IX. Also in Revue retrospective, 2 serie, I, 175. 2'. Extrait du 
registre des deliberations du corps municipal du 20 juin, 1792, 
neuf heures du matin. No. XX. Also found in Compte 
rendu, 7. 
b. Compte rendu par M. le maire et proces-verbaux dresses par les officiers 
municipaux, sur les evenements du 20 juin, 1792. Reimprimes par 
ordre du corps municipal, Paris, 1792. This collection contains the 
following documents: (i) Decrees, (a) Arrete du corps municipal 
8 juillet, 1792. (b) Arrete du conseil general de la commune, 16 
juin, 1792. Also in Ternaux, I, 137. (c) Arrete du directoire du 
departement, 19 juin, 1792. Also in Rapport du ministre de I'in- 
terieur a I'assemblee nationale sur les precautions prises relative- 
ment aux evenements du 20 juin, 1792. (d) Arrete du corps mu- 
nicipal, 20 juin, 1792. Also in Proclamation du roi et recueil de 
pieces. (2) Reports of municipal officers, (a) Conduite tenue par 



The Uprising of June 20, i'/q2 137 

M. le maire de Paris a I'occasion des evenements du 20 juin, 1792. 
Also in Hist, pari., XV, 170. (b) Proces-verbal dresse le 20 juin, 
1792, par MM. Mouchet, Guiard et Thomas, officiers municipaux. 
Also in Hist, pari., XV, 124, and Revue retrospective, 2® serie, I, 
172. (c) Proces-verbal dresse le 20 juin, 1792, par MM. Mouchet 
et Boucher-Saint-Sauveur, officiers municipaux. (d) Proces-verbal 
dresse le 20 juin, 1792, par M. Mouchet. (e) Proces-verbal dresse 
sur les evenements du 20 juin, 1792, par M. Patris, officier muncipal. 
(f) Proces-verbal dresse par M. Perron, officier municipal sur les 
evenements du 20 juin, 1792. Also in Hist, pari., XV, 120, and in 
Revue retrospective, 2 serie, I, 170. (g) Proces-verbal dresse sur 
les evenements du 20 juin, 1792, par M. Sergent, administrateur au 
departement de la police, (h) Proces-verbal dresse le 20 juin, 1792, 
par M. Boucher-Rene, officier municipal, (i) Proces-verbal dresse 
par M. Borie, officier municipal, sur les evenements du 20 juin, 
1792. (j) Proces-verbal dresse par Hii, officier municipal, sur les 
evenements du 20 juin, 1792. (k) Proces-verbal dresse par M. 
Champion, officier municipal, sur les evenements du 20 juin, 1792. 
(i) Declaration de M. J. J. Leroux, sur les evenements du 20 juin, 
1792. (m) Declaration de M. Jallier, officier municipal sur la 
journee du 20 juin, 1792. 

c. Revue retrospective, 2^ serie, I, 1835. (i) Letter from Petion's office 

in his absence to Roederer, June 8, 1792; (2) Letter of Terrier to 
the directory, eleven a. m., June 20, 1792; (3) Dehberations of the 
directory, 11:30 p. m., June 20, 1792; (4) Letter of Terrier to the 
directory, 11 p. m., June 20, 1792; (5) Letter of the commissioners 
to Roederer, two o'clock, June 30, 1792; (6) Letter of Roederer to 
Manuel, two-thirty o'clock, June 30, 1792; (7) Letter of Roederer 
to the commissioners, nine o'clock, June 30, 1792; (8) Rapport fait 
au conseil du departement par MM. Garnier, Levillard et Demantort, 
commissioners named by the council of the department to report on 
June 20, 1792. 

d. Aulard, F. A. La societe des Jacobins, recueil de documents pour 

I'histoire du club des Jacobins de Paris. 5 vols., Paris, 1892. 

e. Brette, Armand. Recueil de documents relatifs a la convocation des 

etats generaux de 1789. 3 vols., Paris, 1894. 

/. Rambaud, A. Recueil des instructions donnees aux ambassadeurs et 
ministers de France depuis les traites de Westphalie jusqu'a la 
revolution frangaise, 1749-1789. Paris, 1890. 

g. Rapport du ministre de I'interieur a I'assemblee nationale sur les pre- 
cautions prises relativement aux evenements du 20 juin. This re- 
port was made June 21st and contains the following letters support- 
ing it: (i) Letter of Terrier to the directory, 2:30 p. m., June 19, 
1792. (2) Letter of the directory to Terrier, June 19, 1792. (3) Letter 

333 



138 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

of the directory to Terrier, 7 a. m., June 20, 1792. (4) Letter of Ter- 
rier to the directory, 8 a. m., June 20, 1792. These four letters are 
also found in Revue retrospective, 2^ serie, I, 163 ff., and in Arch, 
pari, (s) Letter of Terrier to the directory, 8 a. m., June 20, 1792 
(second letter). (6) Letter of directory to Terrier, 9 a. m., June 
20, 1792. (7) Letter of Terrier to directory, 9 a. m., June 20, 1792. 
Also found in Proclamation du roi et recueil de pieces, No. VIIL 
h. Ternaux, I, 404. < 

(i) Extrait du proces-verbal des declarations regues par le juge de 
paix de la section des Tuileries sur la journee du 20 juin, date 
au commencement du 25 juin, 1792. (2) Rapport d' Alexandre. 
(3) Extrait du rapport fait par Santerre au maire. (4) 
Ouverture de la porte de la cour royale, Laporte to Terrier, 
June 27, 1792. Original in Archives nationales, F'3688\ 

2. Sources Independently Printed 

a. Documents. 

(i) Proces-verbal de Vassemblee nationale imprime par son ordre. 
Paris, 1792. 

(2) Guingerlot. Declaration of Guingerlot, Lieut. Col. 30 Div. Gen- 

darmerie, June 25. Also found in Archives historiques, artis- 
tiques et litteraires, II, 365, Paris, Etienne Charavay. Original 
in Arch, nat., F'3390. Guingerlot was on the scene and played 
an important role on June 20. This text is only a rough draft 
of his deposition. 

(3) Rougeville, M. de. Deposition sur les tristes evenements de la 

journee du 20 juin, 1792, comme temoin oculaire et reflexions 
politiques par M. de Rougeville, Lieut. Col. de Cavalrie Cheva- 
lier des ordres militaires, St. Louis et de Cincinnatus. Original 
in Arch, nat., C 222, No. I6o^^^ 

(4) L'almanach royal de 1792. 

b. COKRESPONDENCE AND JOURNALS. 

(i) Blanc-Gilli. Lettre d'un depute de I'assemblee nationale au 
departement des B ouches-du-Rhone au sujet de I'attentat et des 
desordres commis au chateau des Tuileries, le 20 juin. Paris, 
21 juin, 1792. The original is in the Archives nationales, 
AD^I02. Blanc-Gilli was an eye witness of the events he de- 
scribes and wrote June 21. The letter is published in pamphlet 
form. 

(2) Flammermont, Jules. Negociations secretes de Louis XVI et du 
baron de Breteuil avec la cour de Berlin (decembre 1791- 
juillet 1792). Paris, 1885. 

334 



The Uprising of June 20, 1^92 



139 



(3) Geraud, Edmond. Journal d'un etudiant pendant la revolution, 

1789-1793- Chalmann Levy, Editor, 1890. 

(4) Glagau, Hans. Die franzosische Legislative imd der Ursprung 

der Revolutionskriege, 1^91-1/92. Berlin, 1896, p. 318-360. 
i'. Mercy an Kaunitz, Briissels, den 16 Mai, 1792; 2'. Mercy an 
Kaunitz, Briissels, den 30 Mai, 1792; 3'. Pellenc an LaMarck, 
Paris, Ende Mai, 1792; 4'- Remarques sur I'etat actuel du 
moment. (Diese Bemerkungen sind von Pellenc verfasst. Sie 
tragen kein datum. Am 13 Juni iibersandte Mercy sie an den 
Fiirsten Kaunitz. Editor's note.) 5'. Pellenc an LaMarck, 
Paris, den 24 Juni, 1792; 6'. Aus einem Schreiben Mercys an 
Kaunitz, Briissel, den 27 Juni, 1792; 7'. Mercy an Kaunitz, 
Brtissel, den 2 Juli, 1792; 8'. Abbe Louis an Mercy, Paris, den 
26 Juni, 1792; 9'. Pellenc an LaMarck, Paris, den 29 Juni, 1792; 
10'. Pellenc an LaMarck, Paris, den 30 Juni, 1792; 11'. Pellenc 
an LaMarck, Paris, den 13-15 Juli, 1792. 

(5) Goupilleau, Ph-Ch-Ai. Lettre de depute de la Vendee a I'as- 

semblee legislative, a la societi populaire de Saint-Vincent de 
Nantes, Fontenay, 1849. Goupilleau was an eye witness of and 
an actor in the events of June 20. He wrote his account at 
eleven o'clock the same night. Published in pamphlet form 
and found in Bibliotheque de la Ville de Paris. 

(6) Journal d'une bourgeoise pendant la revolution 1791-179S. Pub- 

liee par son petit- fils, Edouard Lockroy, Paris, 1881. These 
letters were written by a woman to her son and to her husband. 
They were not written for publication. She was present in the 
assembly on June 20 and sent her servant to the Tuileries to 
see what passed there. 

(7) Klinckowstrom, Baron R. M. de. Le comte de Fersen et la cour 

de France. Extraits des papiers du grand marechal de Suede, 
comte Jean Axel de Fersen. 2 vols., Paris, 1878. Vol. H, p. 
303, 307: i'. Bulletin avec details sur ce qui s'est passe aux 
Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792. (D'apres I'original envoye par le 
charge d'affaires de Suede a Paris, Sr. Bergstedt, au comte de 
Fersen; dans les papiers de ce dernier.) 2'. Bulletin de ce qui 
s'est passe aux Tuileries le 20 juin, 1792, Paris, ce 21 juin, 
1792. (D'apres une lettre en chiffre d'une personne temoin 
oculaire. La lettre a ete dechiffree par un secretaire du comte 
de Fersen.) 

(8) La journee du 20 juin, 1792, recontee par un temoin. Extrait 

d'tine lettre ecrite de Paris en datte du 21 juin a Dupin et fils a 
Montpellier, in Revue historique de la revolution frangaise. Vol. 
n, 597. 

(9) Lescure, Correspondance secrete incdite sur Louis XVI, Marie- 

335 



140 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

Antoinette, la cour et la ville de 1777-1792. Publiee d'apr^s 
les manuscrits de la bibliotheque imperiale de Saint-P etersbourg , 
2 vols., Paris, 1866. The author is unknown, but was evidently 
a person familiar with the political and diplomatic affairs of 
the court. The manuscript is found in Saint Petersburg 
marked F. 51, Bulletins de Versailles, 1777-1792. 

(10) Lindet, Thomas. Correspondance pendant la constituante et la 

legislative {1789-1792). Published by Amand Montier, Paris, 
1899. 

(11) Mirabeau et Le Comte de La Marck. Correspondance pendant 

les annees 1789, 1790, et 1791, recueillie, mise en ordre et publiee 
par M. Ad. de Bacourt, 3 vols., Paris, 1851. i'. Le comte de 
Montmorin au comte de la Marck, Paris, 22 mai, 1792; 2'. Le 
comte de Montmorin au comte de la Marck, Paris, 19 juin, 
1792; 3'- Le comte de Montmorin au comte de la Marck, Paris, 
21 juin, 1792. 

(12) Morris, Gouverneur. Diary and Letters. Edited by Anne Gary 

Morris, 2 vols.. New York, 1888. 

(13) A Residence in France during the Years 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795: 

Described in a Series of Letters from an English Lady with 
General and Incidental Remarks of the French Character and 
Manners. Ed. by John Gifford, Esq. 

(14) Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, Nov., 1908, contains: 

i'. Fidele expose d'un evenement qui a garanti d'une mort 
imminente la vie de S. A. R. Madame la Duchesse d'Angouleme, 
Letter of J. B. Mosneron to Louis XVIII, May 19, 1814; 2'. 
Lettre du comte Bigot de Preameneu au comte de Pastoret, Oct. 
8, 1817, XI, 116. 

(15) Vivenot, Alfred Ritter von. Quellensur Geschichte der deutschen 

Kaiserpolitik Oesterreichs wdhrend der franzosischen Revolu- 
tionskriege, 1790-1801. 4 vols., Wien, 1873. Vol. II, p. 58, 
contains : i'. Kaunitz an Mercy, Wien, den 26 Mai, 1792. 

c. Contemporary Accounts. 

(i) Azema. "Les journees du 20 juin et du 10 aout, 1792, racontees 
par Azema, depute de I'Aude a la legislative." La revolution 
frangaise, XXVIL Azema was an eye witness of what he re- 
lates and wrote at eleven o'clock on the evening of June 20th. 

(2) Bourcet. "Relation de la journee du 20 juin, 1792, faite par un 
garde nationale, temoin oculaire " in Revolution frangaise, XVII, 
72. This account was written by a former valet de chambre of 
the dauphin, who died in 1798. It was found among the papers 
of Mercy in the archives of Vienna, having been sent by Mercy 
to Kaunitz with a letter dated June 27, 1792. It gives a very 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jg2 141 

good account of the events of the day as seen by one who stood 
beside the king in the hall through which the crowd passed. 
The author, however, shows prejudice against the people and 
great devotion to the king. The document is not dated, but 
was evidently written before June 27. See note of Flammer- 
mont, Revolution franqaise, XVII, ^2. 
(3) Young, Arthur. Travels in France during the years 17S7, 1788, 
1789, 4th Edition, London, 1892. 

{d) Pamphlets. 

(1) Addresse au roi apres la journee du 20 juin, 1792. Anonymous. 

Extremely royalist in sentiment, giving nothing of value, but 
praising the king for his religious fortitude on June 20. 

(2) Au roi. Une addresse par Sanois ancien aide-major de vos 

gardes frangaises. June 21. One of the royalist addresses sent 
to the king expressing horror of the events of June 20. Gives 
no facts, but only shows sentiment. 

(3) Aux citoyens amis de la constitution par les federes. Anonymous. 

This pamphlet is anti-Jacobin. It blames the Jacobins for 
many acts, among others for being the authors of June 20. 
Of value only as it reflects sentiment. 

(4) De I'affreuse conspiration qui vient d'etre decouverte par des 

members de I'assemblee nationale. Complot atroce d'engorger 
les deputes patriotes de I'assemblee, M. Petion, maire de Paris, 
les membres patriotes de la municipalite, du departement et des 
sections patriotiques. Extreme in sentiment, general in its 
accusations and gives nothing of value. 

(5) Description de la fete civique donnee au roi dans son chateau des 

Tuilleries par MM. Petion et Santerre juin 20, 1792. Arch. Nat., 
C222, No. I6o'°^ An anonymous pamphlet full of satire and 
bitter accusations. Extremely prejudiced, charging Petion, 
Manuel, Santerre, the members of the assembly and of the 
directory with responsibility for the events of June 20. 

(6) Drouet. Note sur les evenements de la journee du 20 juin, 1792, 

par Charles Frangois Drouet, Lieut, de chasseurs dans la garde 
nationale. This writer was in the king's apartments June 20, 
1792, but wrote his account twenty-four years later, in 1816. 
He relates the incidents of the day, but the account is full of 
inaccuracies and misstatements. He claims to have rendered 
to the king certain services which other evidence shows he did 
not render. 

(7) Gouchon. Grande discourse pronouncee par le patriate Gouchon 

au nom des citoyens du faubourg Saint-Antoine au sujet de la 
journee du 20 juin et pour justifier le peuple de Paris. Im- 

337 



142 Laura B. Pfeiffer ' 

primee par ordre de rassemhlee nationale et envoye a tous les 
departements. This pamphlet is an attempt on the part of the 
writer to justify himself and his fellows for the part they took 
on June 20, asserting that as fathers of families, citizens and 
soldiers they were right in what they did because of the oppres- 
sion and plots of the king and nobles. He applauds the as- 
sembly for its attitude. 

(8) Joly. Note historique sur la journee du 20 juin, 1792, donnee par 

le Sr. Joly sergent des canonniers de la section du faubourg 
du Nord. Written at Paris, March 20, 1816. Joly was a guard 
in the king's apartments on June 20. He is strongly royalist 
and, like Drouet, claims credit for services which he did not 
render. His memory did not serve him well, twenty-four years 
after the events. 

(9) Lamar, I'abbe. Les loisirs d'un cure' deplace ou les acts de 

I'eglise constitutionelle, tableau historique de la journee du 20 
juin ou le triomphe du bonnet rouge. This pamphlet is found 
in a collection called Pieces sur la revolution, journees fameuses, 
Vol. HI, 1791 a 10 aout 1792. Very prejudiced and very bitter 
in its tone. Makes sweeping accusations against the popular 
leaders and the people and charges them with crimes which the 
writer does not prove. He calls them regicides, bandits, canni- 
bals, etc. He mentions various incidents of the day. Every 
statement needs to be carefully controlled. 

(10) Le cri de la douleur ou journee du 20 juin par I'auteur du D amine 

salvem fac regent (extrait de la correspondance politique ou 
tableau de Paris des 22 et 24. juin). Paris. Arch. nat. A. D. 
102. Bitter in tone, royalist in sympathy, it makes many general 
and specific accusations which it does not prove. It can not be 
relied upon for statements of fact. It condemns in strong 
language the supposed leaders of the day, particularly the 
Girondins and Jacobins in the assembly. 

(11) P. M. D. V. Lettre au roi, presents par ses fideles sujets re- 

lativement a la journee, a jamais execrable, du 20 juin, 1792. 
Signed P. M. D. V. Another of the anonymous pamphlets 
which is of no value in giving facts, but which shows royalist 
sentiment. It is full of praise for the king and condemnation 
of the people for June 20. 

(12) Paroles d'un vrai Frangais apres I'aff reuse journee du 20 juin. 

Anonymous. This is royalist and extremely bitter in its attacks 
on the supposed leaders of the uprising. It gives unstinted 
praise to the king. Is of no value except to reflect sentiment. 

(13) Preuves evidentes des trahisons de I'etat-major coupable au 

premier chef du crime de lese-nation; et fidelite heroique des sec- 



The Uprising of June 20, i'jc>2 143 

tions et des soldats patriotes. Par des citoyens des faubourgs. 
A Paris de I'imprinierie de la Verite emplacement de la ci- 
devant Bastille, 1792. This was drawn up by the citizens of the 
faubourgs. It is full of praise for the leaders of the people 
and for all connected with the cause of liberty. It accuses the 
king of perfidy and the directory of subservience to him. It 
praises Petion, Danton, Manuel, Robespierre, and shows the 
sentiment in the faubourgs. 

(14) Recit exact et circonstancie de ce qui s'est passe au chateau des 

Tuilleries le mercredi 20 juin, 1792. Paris, imp. de J. Gerouard. 
Extrait de la Gazette de Paris. The editor of the Gazette de 
Paris was Durosoy. He says that for this account he followed 
the notes of an eye witness, who was at the king's side. The 
sentiment is markedly royalist, bitterly accusing the people of 
murderous intentions. It is extremely prejudiced, but evidently 
the account of an eye witness. 

(15) Recit generale et circonstancie des evenements du vingt juin, 1792. 

Extrait dii Courrier des 83 departements. The original news- 
paper published by Gorsas bears the dates June 22 and 24. This 
account is full and accurate, though sympathy with the move- 
ment is clearly seen. Gorsas was an eye witness. The Nouvelle 
correspondance politique, XII, i, date of June 22, 1792, a royal- 
ist paper, says Gorsas knows everything beforehand, when it is 
a question of an uprising. 

{e) Newspapers. 

(i) Annales patriotiques et litteraires de la France, et affaires 
politiques de I'Europe; journal libre, par une societe d'ecrivains 
patriotes, dirige par M. Mercier et par M. Carra, un des 
auteurs. Nos. CLII, CLXXIII, CLXXIV, Du Jeudi, 31 Mai, 
Jeudi 21 juin, Vendredi 22 juin, 1792. Bib. nat., L"c. 249. 

(2) Chronique du mois ou les cahiers patriotiques de M. Claviere, 

19 juin, 20 juin, 1792. Bib. nat., L^c. 649. 

(3) Chronique de Paris. (Redigee pour la partie de I'assemblee 

nationale par M. J. A. N. Condorcet.) Daily. No. 174, Jeudi 

21 juin. No. 17s, Vendredi 22 juin, 172. Bib. nat., L^c. 218. 

(4) Corespondance politique des veritables amis du roi et de la patrie. 

No. 63. Du Jeudi 21 puin et du Samedi 23 juin, 1792. Bib. nat, 
L^c. 661, 662. Account of June 20 written by an eye witness. 

(5) Gazette de France. No. 86 and 87. Du Jeudi 21, and Vendredi 

22 juin, 1792. Bib. nat., L^c. i. 

(6) Journal de I'assemblee nationale ou Journal logographique. Tome 

XXI, 1792. Bib. nat., Uc. 136. This journal gives the fullest 
and most faithful report of the meetings of the assembly on 
June 20, of any of the papers. 

339 



144 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

(7) Journal des debats et des decrets. Nos. 266, 267, 268. Bib. nat., 

L^c. 147. This gives a full account of the meetings of the 
assembly. 

(8) Journal du peuple, par Boyer. No. 146. Du Lundi 25 juin, 1792. 

Bib. nat., L^c. 665. 

(9) Journal royalist par Barruel Beauvert, Published every other 

day. Nos. z-?- Du Mercredi, 20, Vendredi 22, Dimanch 24, 
Mardi 26, Jeudi 28, juin, 1792. Bib. nat., L^c. 664. The account 
of the events of June 20 was written by an eye witness. 

(10) L'indicateur ou Journal des causes et des effects. Nos. 31, 32, 33, 

34, 35. Mercredi 20, Jeudi 21, Vendredi 22, Samdi 23, juin, 
1792. Daily. 

(11) Le mercure universel. Daily. Du jeudi 21 juin, 1792, et du 

vendredi, 22 juin, 1792. 

(12) Le patriate frangais {par Brissot). No. 1046. Du Jeudi 21 juin, 

1792. Bib. nat., L^c. 185. 

(13) l^e thermometre du jour, par une societe de gens de lettres, amis 

de la constitution, par J. A. Dulaure et B. Chaper, Paris, 11 
aout 1792-25 aout 1793. Jeudi 21, et Samdi 23 juin, 1792. 
Daily. 

(14) Moniteur. Reimpressions de I'ancien Moniteur depuis la reunion 

des etats-generaux jusqu'au consulat (mai 1789-novembre 1799). 
Avec des notes. 31 vols., Paris, 1840-1847. This gives a report 
of the meetings of the assembly of June 20, but not so faithful 
an account as is found in the Journal de I'assemblee nationale. 

(15) Nouvelle correspondance politique ou tableau de Paris. Pour 

servir de suite aux LII premiers numeros de la correspondance 
politique des veritables amis du roi et de la patrie. No. XII, 
Du Vendredi, 22 juin, 1792, Du Dimanche 24 juin, 1792. Bib. 
Nat., Vc. 661, 662. 

(16) Revolutions de Paris, dediees a la nation et au district des Petits- 

Augustins. Publiees par L. Prudhomme, a I'epoque du 12 
juillet, 1789. Paris, 1792. 

(/) Memoires. 

(i) Alexandre. Extracts in Petites histoires, i serie, of Frederic 
Masson (Paris, 1910) in the chapter entitled " L'invasion des 
Tuileries, Le 20 juin, 1792." The manuscript is the property 
of M. Masson. The portion of the Memoires relating to June 
20 was written later than the account contained in the Rapport 
d' Alexandre (Ternaux, I, 404 flf.) and differs from it in some 
details. Naturally the earlier account is the more trustworthy. 

(2) Campan, Madame. Memoires sur la vie privee de Marie- 
Antoinette, 3 vols., Paris, 1822. 



The Uprising of June 20,' iyg2 145 

(3) Chaumette. Memoires sur la revolution du 10 aout, 17Q2, par F. 

A. Aulard, Paris, 1893. Chaumette was active in revolutionary 
affairs from 1789 to 1794 and very influential. He was pro- 
cureur de la commune in the latter part of 1792. He wrote his 
memoires before the middle of 1793, for he speaks of the 
Girondins as adversaries yet Hving and refers to Petion as 
living in May, 1793. (See page 2,2)-) There is one indication 
that he may have written between Aug. 10 and Sept. 20, 1793. 
After speaking of the action of the assembly, Aug. 10, he 
praised it as worthy of the people it represented and expressed 
a wish that it might never lessen its energy (p. 64). 

(4) Dumouriez. La vie et les memoires avec des notes et des 

eclaircissements historiques, par MM. Berville et Barriere. 
4 vols., Paris, 1822. 

(5) Ferrieres, Marquis de. Memoires, 3 vols., par Berville et Bar- 

riere, Paris, 1821. 

(6) Oelsner, Charles Englebert. " Fragments de ses memoires relatifs 

a I'histoire de la revolution frangaise," Revue historique, Vols. 
LXni, LXXXHI, LXXXIV, LXXXVH. These memoires are 
published with notes by Alfred Stern. Oelsner was an eye wit- 
ness of the events of June 20. 

(7) Paroy, le comte de. Memoires du comte de Paroy, souvenirs 

d'un defenseur de la famille royal pendant la revolution 
{lySg-iygS). Publiees par Etienne Charavay, Paris, 1895. This 
account was first pubHshed in 1836 by Villenave (in the Revue 
de Paris), who owned the manuscript. After his death, Chara- 
vay bought it. Paroy had apartments at the Tuileries. He was 
a close observer, spent much time in the gardens, cafes, and 
streets of Paris and in the evening gave an account to the 
people of the court of what had happened in these places. He 
was in the Tuileries, June 20, both in the apartments of the 
king and of the queen, and stood guard at the king's door all 
night (pp. 300-303). While his account is prejudiced because 
of his enmity to the revolution, it has much valuable material 
of a personal character. See the introduction by Charavay. 

(8) Roederer, P. L. Chronique de cinquante jours du 20 juin au 10 

aout, Paris, 1832. While Roederer was an actor in some of the 
events of June 20, there is little in his account drawn from his 
own independent recollections. He wrote at least thirty years 
after the death of Louis XVI. (See paragraph one of his intro- 
duction in which he speaks of France having been under two 
different regimes of fifteen years each since that event.) He 
made use of the published documents accessible when he wrote, 
reconstructing the events of June 20 as the historian who has 
no first hand knowledge of an event is forced to do. 



146 Laura B. Pfeiffer 

(9) Roland, Madame. Memoires, avec une notice sur sa vie, des 
notes et des eclair cissements historiques, par MM. Berville et 
Barrier e. 2 vols., Paris, 1827. 
(10) Sergent-Marceau. Notice historique sur les evenements du to 
aout, 1792, et des 20 et 21 juin precedents. This account was 
published in the Revue retrospective, 2" serie, III, 328 fif. (1835). 
The account was written in 1828, according to the author's 
statements. He was one of the administrators of police and 
took a very active part in the events of June 20, leaving a dec- 
laration giving a full account of his work on that day. It is 
found in the collection published by the municipality under the 
title Compte rendu, 1792. The Memoires has very little of value 
for June 20, giving chiefly the author's interpretation of the 
uprising as seen through the vista of the years. 

(11) Weber. Memoires concernant Marie Antoinette, archiduchesse 
d'Autriche et reine de France et de Navarre. 2 vols., Paris, 
1822. Weber reproduces a few letters of eye witnesses describ- 
ing the events of June 20. 

II. SECONDARY WORKS. 

1. Aulard, A. Etudes et legons sur la revolution frangaise, Quatrieme 

serie, Paris, 1904. 

2. Aulard, A. : Histoire politique de la revolution frangaise, Paris, 1901. 

3. Aulard, A. : Les republicans et les democrats depuis le massacre du 

Champ de Mars jusqu'a la journee du 20 juin, 1792, in Revolution 
frangaise, XXXV, 1898. 

4. Berty, Adolph. Topographic historique du vieux Paris, 5 vols., Paris, 

1866. 

5. Blanc, Louis, Histoire de la revolution frangaise, 15 vols., Nouvelle 

edition, Paris, 1878. 

6. Brette, Armand, Histoire des edifices oil ont siege les assemhlees par- 

lementaires de la revolution frangaise et de la premiere republique, 
Paris, 1902. 

7. Cambridge Modern History, Planned by Lord Acton, edited by A. W. 

Ward, G. W. Prothero and Stanley Leathes, Vol. VIII, The French 
Revolution, New York. 

8. Caron, Pierre. " Le tentative de contre-revolution de juin-juillet, 1789," 

in Revue d'histoire moderne, VIII, 5-34, 649-678. 

9. Carro, A. Santerre, general de la republique frangaise, sa vie politique 

et privee, ecrite d'apres les documents originaux laisses par lui et 
les notes d'Augustin Santerre, son fils aine, 2d edition, Meaux, 1869. 
A superficial work, of little value, showing little evidence either of 
"original documents" or of "notes of Augustin Santerre." 



The Uprising of June 20, lypB 147 

10. Champion, Edme. La France d'apres les cahiers de 1789, Paris, 1897. 

11. Christophelsmeier, Carl. "The First Revolutionary Step," in Uni- 

versity Studies, University of Nebraska, January, 1909. 

12. Clapham, J. H. The Causes of the War of 1792, Cambridge, 1899. 

13. Dreyfus, Maurice, Les femmes de la revolution frangaise, 1789-1795, 

Paris, 1903. 

14. Flammermont, Jules. Le 14 juillet, 1789. Paris, 1892. 

15. Fling, F. M. "The Oath of the Tennis Court," University Studies, 

University of Nebraska, October, 1899. 

16. Glagau, Hans, Die fransosische Legislative und der Ursprung der 

Revolutionskriege, 1791-1792, Berlin, 1896. 

17. Hatin, Eugene, Bibliographie historique et critique de la presse 

periodique frangaise, Paris, 1866. 

18. Kuscinski, Les deputes a I'assemUee legislative de 1791, Paris, 1900. 

19. Lacroix, Sigismond, Le departement de Paris et de la Seine pendant 

la revolution. Paris, 1904. 

20. Martin, Fernand. La journee des piques. Le 20 juin, 1792, Clermont- 

Ferrand, 1901. P. JuHot, IS Rue de I'eau. This work has no scien- 
tific value whatever. 

21. Masson, Frederic, Petites histoires, i serie, Paris, 1910. 

22. Mellie, Ernest, Les sections de Paris pendant la revolution frangaise, 

Paris, 1898. 

23. Robiquet, Paul. Le personel municipal de Paris pendant la revolution. 

Paris, 1890. 

24. Sorel, Albert. L'Europe et la revolution frangaise, 4 vols., Paris, 1889. 

25. Stephens, H. Morse. The French Revolution, 2 vols., New York, 1886. 

26. Stoddard, Julia Crewett. " The Causes of the Insurrection of the Sth 

and 6th of October, 1789," University Studies, University of Ne- 
braska, October, 1904. 

27. Sybel, Heinrich von. History of the French Revolution, 4 vols., Lon- 

don, 1867. 

28. Ternaux, Mortimer. Histoire de la terreur, 1792-1794. 5 vols., Paris, 

1868. 

29. Tourneux, Maurice. Bibliographie de I'histoire de Paris, pendant la 

revolution frangaise, 3 vols., Paris, 1890-1900. 

30. Tuetey, Alexandre, Repertoire general des sources manuscrites de 

I'histoire de Paris pendant la revolution frangaise, 9 vols., Paris, ' 
1890-1910. 

31. Varenne, Maton-de-la-, Histoire particuliere des evenements qui ont 

eu lieu en France pendant les mois de juin, juillet, d'aout, et de 
septemhre, 1792, et qui ont opere la chute du trbne royal. Paris, 
1806. A very prejudiced account and based on the Recit historique 
et exact, the authorship of which is not given. 



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